Star Wars: Defiance
by clcman
Summary: As a seemingly unstoppable First Order fleet sweeps across the galaxy, surviving New Republic forces struggle to survive, fight back and maybe, just maybe, turn the tide of the war. Disney Canon fic set between Episodes 8 and 9, but with almost entirely original characters. Structured like a 20-episode television series.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Star Wars. Not going to say it again.

STAR WARS: DEFIANCE

SEASON 1: INVASION

The galaxy is at peace. For almost 30 years, the democratic NEW REPUBLIC has dominated the known galaxy, working hard to provide peace, liberty and prosperity to populations ravaged by the tyranny of the GALACTIC EMPIRE and the long war required to destroy it.

Unfortunately, the difficulties of governance make short work of such ideals. The GALACTIC SENATE has become torn by partisanship, with the CENTRIST and POPULIST parties unable to agree on solutions to many issues. Public dissatisfaction with the Republic has grown, and some have begun to desire a return to the perceived efficiency of the Empire, an idea that the mysterious group of Empire-worshiping fanatics known as the FIRST ORDER wishes to exploit. Though believed by the Senate to be weak and disorganized, the First Order has secretly constructed a great fleet and powerful army, hidden away in the uncharted UNKNOWN REGIONS of space. Though LEIA ORGANA and her militia THE RESISTANCE attempt to rouse the Senate to action, they are widely dismissed as zealots and warmongers. The galaxy's peace looks increasingly fragile.

But even when the Senate finds itself paralyzed and doubted, thousands of loyal Republic workers, soldiers and pilots continue their assigned missions, working hard to make the Republic's dream a reality. Elite task forces such as the EIGHTH MOBILE FLEET fight on against crime, corruption and despair to try and make the galaxy a better place.

Their resolve shall soon be tested like never before...

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: _Hello, and welcome to _Star Wars: Defiance_!_

Defiance_ is a Star Wars fanfiction set in the Disney Canon continuity. Taking place mostly after _The Last Jedi_, it follows surviving elements of the New Republic Navy as they fight a desperate battle to slow a seemingly unstoppable First Order invasion and, perhaps, turn the tide of the war._

_While text-only, the fic is organized like a TV series, consisting of 3 (possibly 4) 20-episode "seasons." Each episode will be split into three chapters. Though it is set in Canon and does feature Canon characters and groups, the focus of the story is on original, New Republic characters. The intention of this is to allow the fic to coexist with Canon as much as possible. So while my characters are having their adventures in one corner of the galaxy, Finn/Rey/Poe/Kaz and the Resistance are having their own in another one. (This means that if you hate all the Sequel Trilogy characters, you can still enjoy this fic!)_

_My goals for this fic are to expand the rather lightly explored galaxy of the Sequel Trilogy, to redeem in the eyes of some fans both the New Republic and First Order by giving them an interesting conflict, and, of course, to tell a good story in the process._

_Special thanks to my co-creator, lore nerd apprentice and resident Anakin lover TheBeckishOne, and story collaborator ThatStarWarsKid._

_If you want to know more or discuss the fic or its universe or just hang out, join us on Discord at #star-wars-defiance with the invite discord{DOT}gg/vztCXsE_

_(Replace the {DOT} with a period, obviously. This website automatically filters out web addresses, so that's the only way I can post it.)_


	2. Cataclysm - Part 1

Episode 1: Cataclysm

"Do not fight the last war. Fight the next one."

* * *

If there was sound in space, the screams of the engines of the Corellian CR-110 corvette could have been heard for quite a distance.

The ship banked hard, a large and very illegal heavy turbolaser battery firing desperately at its pursuers. A few thousand meters behind it, the gray triangle stabbed through space undeterred.

On the bridge of that ship stood a cross-looking man, arms folded behind his back, staring at a holodisplay of the corvette with an emotionless expression on his face. His uniform was, plain grey, unmarked by anything save his rank insignia and a patch on his right shoulder. The patch, which also adorned the uniform of every crewman and pilot in the fleet, was a simple affair, the words "Republic Mobile Fleet" in Aurebesh above a High Galactic 8 that dominated the patch. At the bottom, again in Aurebesh, were four short words.

The fleet's motto: "Few defy the odds."

"Their weapons are starting to scratch our shields" reported an ensign at a nearby computer terminal. "Should we escalate?"

"Not yet" said the man. "Give them another volley of turbolasers off the bow and make sure the ion cannons are ready to fire. We need them to believe that they have not just fallen into our trap."

"Yes, Commander Vahle" replied the lieutenant at the weapons control terminal.

The man pressed a button on the console in front of him, re-opening the communications channel. "Unidentified craft, this is Fleet Commander Marius Vahle of the New Republic Eighth Mobile Fleet. You are ordered to deactivate your engines and weapons and submit to a search immediately."

Vahle waited a few seconds, but there was no response but static. Not that he'd expected any, of course. Time to play his next card.

"Loc Bei of the planet Trupido" he said into his microphone. "We know you have the girl Suchi Temn onboard your craft. Return her immediately, unharmed, and you can face Republic justice for kidnapping and extortion. Continue to resist or harm her, and we'll get to see what the Tibrinese do to an outsider who hurts their Kalikeedan's daughter."

There were a few more seconds of static, and then, finally, a reply.

"You want her alive? Then don't come another inch closer!"

Vahle looked at the woman next to him, a blue-skinned Pantoran in her early thirties, lavender hair wrapped in a ponytail and a datapad eternally in her hands.

"That was definitely Mr. Bei's voice" said Major Elini Chur of the New Republic Intelligence Service. "He's stressed. Do you think he might actually hurt her?"

"Not right now" said Vahle, his voice matter-of-fact and emotionless. "If he hurts her, he loses his payday. As long as he thinks he can escape our pursuit, he has no reason to risk that."

Vahle's eyes narrowed.

"Which is why we are continuing to make him believe escape is possible."

"Of course, sir" Chur replied. "All units are still in position."

"Alright, let's turn up the heat a bit." Vahle pressed a button and opened another channel. "Vega 1, Vega 2, move in and clip that heavy cannon."

* * *

"Vega 1 copies, Top" said Wing Commander Tambralynne Kusarni, easing her X-wing out from the shadow of Vahle's flagship. The _Zama_, a top-of-the-line _Acclamator IV/co_-class command ship, was a wide triangle covered in sensor bulbs resembling tiny gravity well generators, a large Republic Blue chevron painted on the bow.

Beside her, Vega 2 appeared, the standard-issue blue paint of his T-85 X-wing contrasting with the pink fuselage and navy S-foils of Tambralynne's craft.

"How you want to play this, boss?" Vega 2 asked over the radio.

Tambralynne thought for a moment as the two fighters rapidly closed the distance between _Zama_ and the corvette. The trick here was hitting the heavy gun without crippling the rest of the ship and putting Loc Bei's hostage at risk.

"I'll buzz 'em and sweep left" the Zeltron said. "That should get that gun's attention. Then you take it out."

"Tambralynne Kusarni letting someone else get a kill?" Vega 2 asked in fake shock.

"What can I say?" Tambralynne replied. "Getting shot at's more fun. Move in!"

The CR-110 banked hard to the left, running close to the debris field floating lazily around the planet. A combination of natural rocks and fragments from centuries of crashed or abandoned spaceships, the field was the only thing keeping Loc Bei from jumping to hyperspace and giving the Eighth Mobile the slip. Tambralynne punched the acceleration and her X-wing jumped forwards. S-foils still locked in travel position, she fired two bursts of lasers past the corvette. They missed by a wide margin, as intended, and the big turbolaser cannon turned away from the _Zama_ to target her.

The cannon fired and Tambralynne jerked her control stick, sending the X-wing lurching to the left and easily avoiding the turbolaser. The next several shots were also dodged, some to the left and some to the right, as Tambralynne gradually moved between the corvette and the debris field, drawing the gunner's attention with her.

Meanwhile, Vega 2 drew almost parallel to the cannon, the T-85's low sensor profile and absorbent coating making it almost invisible to the corvette's instruments. Without warning, Vega 2 opened his S-foils, banked hard to the left and dove at the cannon.

Tambralynne's distraction worked like a charm, and Vega 2 was able to get pretty close before he lined up the target in his sights and fired two quick laser bursts. The CR-110's shields barely absorbed the first one, but the second struck true and the cannon dissolved into sparks and shrapnel.

The corvette shook as the explosion resonated throughout the superstructure. Loc Bei, a middle-aged Rodian whose face seemed to be carved into an eternal scowl, looked around in apprehension. The rest of his crew looked none too happy either. In the corner of the cockpit, a small Ishi Tib girl was sitting on the floor, crying softly.

Bei pulled out his personal holocommunicator and pulled up a hologram of a grim-looking human with long white hair.

"Zann!" Bei shouted. "I have the girl like you wanted. Now where is the assistance you promised me?"

The man in the hologram hardly moved. In fact, he didn't even seem to be looking directly at the receiver.

"Relax, Bei. A little New Republic patrol should easily be within your capabilities, if anything you told me about your skills is to be believed."

Bei started to say something but then silenced himself.

"Still, you have a point. I do have reinforcements heading for your position as we speak. But they cannot reach you until you clear the planetary debris field. I suggest you make that your top priority."

"That's why you're the master criminal" Bei said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes until after he had turned off the hologram.

Suchi Temn's crying became louder.

"Someone shut her up!" Bei shouted.

"Want me to put her in the brig?" a Weequay asked.

"No" replied Bei. "She stays near me. The Republic won't dare target me if she's nearby. Now, how long until we're out of here?"

"About a minute until we're at the debris clearing" reported the ship's pilot.

"Good" said Bei. "I want us in hyperspace the instant we're clear of that floating junk. Is that understood?"

"It's my head and payday as much as yours" replied the pilot.

Bei ignored the woman's smart mouth and stared out the window into space. He, Loc Bei, had as his hostage the daughter of the Kalikeedan, the religious leader who every Ishi Tib on Tibrin venerated. He'd get a king's ransom for her, and all he had to do was get this puny ship past this damn debris field.

* * *

"Turret down, Top" Vega 2 reported.

"Good work, Vega" Commander Vahle said, looking at his holodisplay. "And none too soon. All units, target is approaching Zone C. Prepare for Phase 2 in 30 seconds."

"Copy" said a deep voice over the radio. "I-field is in place."

Vahle smiled, just a tad. Grel was always ready to spring a trap.

* * *

Loc Bei and his pilot stared at the ship's radar screen as a large hole in the debris field, carefully created by the planetary government using gravity projectors to permit commerce, inched closer and closer. The corvette banked once again and dashed into the hole, engines strained to the max as the ship reached the edge of the planetary gravity field. The two Republic X-wings stayed in pursuit, but their occasional laser bursts missed by such a wide margin that Bei wondered if they were intentionally missing him in a futile attempt to scare him into surrendering.

"We're clear" said the pilot, activating the hyperdrive without needing to be told. The engine whirred, the stars stretched and a familiar blue began to tint the passengers' vision. Then everything snapped back to normal. The CR-110 shuddered violently, sending Bei and some of his crew to the floor.

"Interdiction field!" the pilot shouted, turning the ship and gunning the engines as several new contacts appeared on the radar screen, their presence no longer hidden by the debris or low power outputs.

"We've got them" reported Captain Milap Grel to Commander Vahle. The Kel Dor stood confidently in the small but cozy bridge of his MCI-2 Mon Calamari Interdictor Frigate, the _Certainty_, which slowly began to emerge from behind the debris field. Even more bulbous than typical of Mon Calamari craft, the ship was a mere 350 meters in length, but packed that space to the brim with power generation, shield projectors and, of course, powerful gravity well generators, perfect for keeping ships out of hyperspace.

"Good job" replied Vahle. "All units, Phase 2 is go. Move in."

"Copy" said Tambralynne as she and Vega 2 accelerated their X-wings to top speed and rushed at the CR-110. Their orders were simple: if the target was about to reach the edge of the circular interdiction field, they were to shoot out the engines and stop it from escaping. That had a non-zero chance of blowing the ship in half and killing the hostage, so for now Vega Squadron's task was to be ready and watch the show.

And what a show it was.

Three B-wing Mk. II strike bombers from Libra Squadron emerged from the debris field near the _Certainty_. From the other direction, the fleet's two _Marauder_-class corvettes, small craft more associated with piracy than law enforcement, charged to intercept the CR-110 as fast as their surprisingly powerful engines could carry them.

"Ships coming in from all directions!" Loc Bei's pilot warned.

"I don't care!" the Rodian shouted. "Evade them!"

The pilot ignored a flashing light warning of excessive engine strain and rolled the ship into a tight turn, causing the first Marauder corvette to miss. As it passed behind Bei's ship, however, it rotated and unleashed the reason pirates loved it – a powerful tractor beam in its nose. The beam locked squarely onto the CR-110's large engine block and began to pull the ship back towards the Marauder. At least in theory. Given the CR-110's superior speed, it was more accurate to say that the Marauder was being dragged behind it.

With the CR-110 slightly slowed by the first Marauder's mass, the second one easily latched its tractor beam onto the midsection of the ship. Both Marauders hit their rear thrusters and began to decelerate the craft. It wouldn't be enough – the CR-110's engines were powerful enough to drag both Marauders out of the interdiction field with it. But that was okay. The _Marauder_-class corvette had another reason pirates loved it – two massive ion cannons on its wings, now pointed directly at Loc Bei's ship.

As the Marauders began their point-blank ion barrage, Libras 3, 4 and 5 reached the other side of the target and unleashed their own ion cannons. In a matter of seconds, the CR-110's shields were gone and power systems overloaded. The engines' glow faded, and inside the ship their humming stopped.

It was dead in space.

* * *

"Target disabled, Top" reported the first Marauder.

Commander Vahle did not allow himself to feel joy at the success of his trap. If the next part failed, it wouldn't matter.

"Understood. Phase 3 is go. Keriala sur, Nova."

"Copy, Top."

Without a word, an _Omicron_-class assault shuttle, painted black with a blue tint, broke away from the B-wings it had been shadowing to conceal its sensor profile and dashed towards Loc Bei's ship. As it approached the corvette, the shuttle's rear door opened, exposing the already-depressurized compartment to the vacuum of space. As the shuttle crossed the rear of the crippled corvette and veered away towards _Zama_, eight black-clad humanoid figures emerged. Propelled by their own inertia, with only the occasional burst from small thruster jets in their suits to readjust their course, the figures approached the top of the corvette. Touching down, magnetics in their boots attaching to the roof of the ship, they swept the area, weapons drawn.

"Nova on deck" came a brief transmission.

Commander Vahle didn't smile. The next minute was going to make or break this operation and decide if Suchi Temn lived or died. There was nothing else he could do. No more plans to make, no more orders to give.

It was all up to Nova Team.

* * *

"What happens now?" asked one of the Weequays, glancing around the cockpit nervously in the eerie red glow of the emergency lighting.

"Now they come for us" said a Zabrak. "They won't risk blowing up the ship with the girl on board."

"Then all we have to do is wipe 'em out" said the Weequay. "I can take some NRATs."

The Zabrak shook her head. "They aren't going to send NRATs."

"Who are they going to send?"

"Does it matter?" Bei growled. "Get to the airlocks and secure them!"

As his minions scrambled towards the rear of the ship, Bei glared at Suchi Temn, who had stopped crying but remained curled up in a ball, her beak clicking nervously.

"Don't even think about moving, little brat" Bei spat at her, hand on the pistol in the holster on his hip. "I'd rather see you dead than let these Republic dogs have you!"

Suchi didn't say anything, simply staring at the floor.

"Now," said Bei, turning back to his pilot. "How long until we get this ship back online?"

* * *

Lieutenant Aldon Daniels, New Republic Galactic Marines, had never quite gotten used to vacuum deployment. While he was certainly years ahead of his first EVA suit experience, where he'd panicked during a training test, he was still a farm boy at heart, and hated the enclosed nature of his helmet, the bulk of his suit (which, even when weightless, felt awkward to move in), the way his breath rattled as it entered his respirator.

But if that was the price of the good missions, so be it.

Colonel Tallion gave a quick hand signal and the team split in two, each group moving to one of the two side airlocks on the corvette's midsection. The outer doors to the airlocks were unsealed, as was standard, but a quick test confirmed that, as they'd feared, the interior doors were locked from the inside.

"Execute Plan Besh" Tallion said into their radios, referring to one of the maneuvers they had considered while studying scans of Bei's ship. Three of the troopers at the starboard airlock left it, closed the door and hurried to the port airlock. The last figure pulled out a small detonator, placed it on the latch section of the interior airlock door and floated back as close to the exterior door as possible.

"Dottie, breach" said Tallion.

"Acknowledged" replied a chipper, feminine voice.

* * *

Inside the corvette, five of Bei's minions reached the midsection airlocks, blasters in hand. The area was a narrow hallway, with a circular door, five feet in diameter, dominating each side.

"Get in position" ordered a Sullustan. He and two of the grunts stayed where they were, between the airlocks and the cockpit, while the other two, a Duros and a human, moved past the doors to take position on the other side. As they did, they heard a metallic clang coming from the starboard airlock door.

"What was -" started the human. He didn't finish as an explosion shattered the lock on the door and sent it swinging inwards, striking the man and sending smoke everywhere. The Duros cried out and fired two shots into the airlock compartment, only for something to slam into her and smash her into the opposite wall. The remaining three gangsters fired wildly into the smoke, uncertain of what they were facing.

Without warning, a meter-high yellow oval emerged from the smoke, rushing straight towards them. As blaster bolts harmlessly dissipated against the oval's surface, a blaster to its side fired the silver-blue circle of a stun bolt, knocking the goon to the right unconscious. The oval reached the next gangster and jerked to the left, smashing him into the wall. The Sullustan tried to fire his blaster at the now-exposed figure behind the oval, only to find a black, metal appendage clamped around his throat. Before he could react, he was tossed into the ceiling, dropping his blaster in the process. As he tumbled helplessly towards the floor, the intruder put a stun bolt in the downed gangster to its left and then one in the Sullustan. The figure crouched, three red photoreceptors swiveling around its black, cylindrical head, checking every direction. After a second of quiet, it put a stun bolt in the semiconscious Duros down the hall, then deactivated its large, yellow deflector shield.

"Area secure" DT-3, New Republic Galactic Marines, reported on its radio as it plugged a probe attached to its hand into the panel beside the port airlock. A second of turning and the airlock door popped open, spilling out the remainder of Nova Team.

"Good work, Dottie" said Daniels. The droid, using articulated fingers atypical of the IG line, gave a small thumbs-up with her blaster hand.

"Move" Colonel Tallion muttered. Now that they were inside the ship, every second counted.

Dottie reactivated her shield and took the lead, Daniels and Tallion following. Two small probe droids detached from the shoulders of Specialist Shara Da'ade and Trooper Henli and floated ahead of Dottie, scanning the hallways for hidden threats.

With one trooper watching his back, Specialist Da'ade pulled a cable from the sleeve of his uniform and plugged it into a wall socket, connecting the computer in his suit to the CR-110's systems, or at least what was still functional after the ion barrage. His Umbaran eyes, unbothered by the darkness of the hallway, stared at a small holographic display as he attempted to get the ship's systems under his control.

The rest of Nova Team advanced rapidly through the ship, encountering no resistance. An external life signs scan had put most of the ship's occupants at the cockpit, and it seemed likely that that was where Loc Bei and Suchi Temn would be as well.

"Hold" Henli said, her eyes scanning the feed from the probe droids. "Several targets ahead."

'Ahead' meant around a large bulkhead that split the hallway in two. According to the CR-110 plans they had studied, this split was brief, and as soon as they turned either corner, they would be in a large, open room full of tables. A wise choice on the part of Bei's thugs – the defenders could be spread out in cover across the room, while attackers would have to travel through two doors full of blaster fire.

"Colonel, I have control of life systems" Specialist Da'ade reported via radio.

"Good" Tallion grunted. "Do you have gravity?"

"Of course" Da'ade replied.

"Cut it on my mark, Shade" said Tallion. "Daniels, flash and breach on mark."

Daniels drew a flash grenade from his belt and prepared to throw it around the corner. The rest of team checked their suits' thrusters and got into crouching positions, mentally preparing for what was about to happen.

"Mark" said Tallion.

Daniels threw the grenade. As it bounced off the wall and flew into the room, the ship's artificial gravity cut out, leaving the cylinder hanging in the air for a brief second before it exploded into light that would be blinding under normal circumstances, let alone to eyes adjusted to emergency lighting.

As soon as they heard the pop of the flash grenade's detonation, Nova Team sprang into action. Dottie and a trooper each leaped off the ground, propelling themselves around the corners and into the low gravity. Tallion and the fourth trooper followed, as did Daniels and Henli. The probe droids, unimpeded by the loss of gravity, rushed in as well.

Six armed gangsters were set up around the room, but the unexpected flash and even more unexpected loss of gravity had sent several of them floating helplessly above their cover. Dottie and the first trooper easily scored stun bolt hits on all of them, the small thrusters in their suits stabilizing them against the light recoil of their carbines' shots.

While most of the goons crumpled instantly, one in the back shrugged the stun bolt off. Covered in metal armor and a face-concealing helmet, this gangster stood as a proud reminder of the stun bolt's occasional lack of effectiveness, the main reason besides cost that conventional blasters remained in wide usage, even amongst law enforcement.

The armored grunt was holding a large blaster of his own, and though partially blinded by the flash grenade he nevertheless opened fire. His first two shots slammed into a wall near Henli, but he didn't get a third. Floating upside down near the ceiling from the momentum of the bounce off the wall, Colonel Tallion calmly lined up the goon's helmet in the sights of a MWC-39 heavy repeating blaster and fired a single shot.

The grunt's helmet might have been resistant to stun bolts, and maybe even light blaster fire, but the MWC's bolt went through it without slowing down. As his head snapped back, a glowing hole bored through it, the room became quiet, if not exactly still.

"Drop" said Tallion into the radio.

Shade pressed a button on his computer and the ship's gravity reactivated, sending the prepared boarders to the floor, feet-first. The unconscious and dead gangsters hit the floor with considerably less grace.

As did Loc Bei, who had spent his brief experience in zero-G flailing about in a way unbecoming of an alleged criminal mastermind. As soon as he got to his feet, he lunged for Suchi and wrapped his arms around the struggling girl.

Nova Team had advanced up to the cockpit when two blaster bolts hit the floor in front of them. Loc Bei's last two goons were perched at the top of the stairs to the cockpit, blaster rifles ready to give more than a warning shot. Nova scattered into cover on opposite sides of the hall.

"Well, well, well!" said Loc Bei, appearing at the top of the stairs, a now still Suchi in his arms. His blaster pistol was pressed directly against her head.

"It seems you Republic dogs really don't understand how all of this works" Bei declared.

"Henli, flank with droids" Tallion ordered, the sealed helmets of the Galactic Marines preventing anyone outside of their radio channel from hearing. Henli nodded and directed the probe droids into a small ventilation duct.

"All I wanted was a business transaction" Bei went on. "No one had to get hurt. Certainly not this girl. But you carboniteheads seem determined to get her killed."

"You don't want to hurt her!" Daniels shouted. He could see Bei's shadow down the stairs, but the Rodian was too high up to get a shot at from cover.

"Of course I don't" Bei replied. "But I also don't want to spend the next 20 years in jail! And that's the best you can offer me!"

One of Henli's droids slipped out of a maintenance hatch behind Bei. A quick scan revealed Bei, Suchi, the two goons with blaster rifles and Bei's pilot, who was standing further back and did not appear to be armed.

"Assessment" Tallion whispered.

"Gonna be a pain with that gun on the hostage" Shade remarked from the rear of the ship, Henli's video feed on his holodisplay.

"Do we have a shot on Bei?" Tallion asked.

"Negative" said Trooper Lampsen. "Angle's all wrong. Can't get a shot without exposing ourselves."

"So I need a way out of here" Bei continued, unaware of the covert conversation. "A way out of this system, and a way out of Republic Space. And the only way out of here is with a gun to little Suchi's head."

The Ishi Tib squirmed, but Bei pressed his blaster harder against her temple, and she soon became still again.

"What if you had a different hostage?" Daniels asked. "A New Republic officer. Guarantees you safe passage and lets the girl go home."

"Daniels, what are you doing?" Tallion asked over the radio channel.

"What did you have in mind?" Bei asked, intrigued.

Daniels stepped into the hall, blaster carbine pointed down and his other hand empty. After a second, he dropped the gun. A quick tap to the front of his helmet retracted the faceplate, revealing an unremarkable human face.

"Lieutenant, regulations dictate that no Republic officer should surrender themselves into criminal custody without-"

"Hush, Dottie" said Tallion, no less upset at Daniel's 'plan.' "Squad prepare to engage on my mark."

"You're no officer" said Bei.

"I'm a lieutenant, actually" said Daniels, maintaining steady eye contact with the Rodian. "Galactic Marines. Special Forces. We're pretty valuable."

"VJs" the Weequay spat in disgust. "Republic Void Jumpers. The bounty we'd get for the likes of you."

"You want a bounty, or you want to escape?" Daniels asked.

Bei was quiet for a second, trying to figure out if this was a trick.

"Here's an idea" he said. "How about I take both of you? Cuff him" he instructed the Weequay. The gangster looked confused for a second before nodding and advancing, his blaster rifle trained on Daniels's face. The other goon stayed back but also targeted him. Daniels had hoped that Bei might point his pistol in his direction as well, but the Rodian kept it firmly pressed to Suchi's head. Daniels sighed and focused on looking non-threatening.

"I've got a shot on Bei" Henli reported on the radio. Her probe droid floated quietly above the Rodian, hidden in a dark corner of the ceiling.

"Too risky" Tallion replied. "He might fire as he goes down. Aim for the blaster instead."

"Copy" said Henli, adjusting the droid's target with the computer in her wrist.

"Squad, prepare for my mark" said Tallion. "Stunners only. Can't risk hitting the girl. Or lieutenant."

Daniels smiled at the Weequay approached him. People had always said he had a nice smile. The gangster pulled a pair of binders off of his belt, keeping the blaster rifle pointed at Daniels with one hand.

"Mark!" Tallion shouted. At once, three things happened. Henli's droid released an electric arc from its body, knocking Loc Bei's pistol from his hand. Daniels lunged at the Weequay, wrapping himself around the alien's gun arm and keeping his rifle pointed at the floor. And the rest of Nova Team sprang out of cover and filled the cockpit with stun bolts. Loc Bei fell, as did his goon on the stairs. Dottie rushed up the stairs and stunned the pilot, while Tallion moved to the Weequay, who had just struck Daniels in the head. The Weequay pulled back his free arm for another blow, only to find Tallion's three-fingered hand around his wrist. The gangster, now lacking use of both arms, headbutted the colonel's face, doing little damage, but striking the helmet's quick-release button. Tallion's faceplate retracted to reveal the scaly green skin, yellow eyes and sharp, sharp teeth of an angry Trandoshan.

The Weeqauy gasped in surprise. Tallion ignored it and headbutted back, which was a lot more effective. Daniels pulled the rifle away from the Weequay and Tallion punched him in the chest. Henli dropped a stun bolt into the gangster and Tallion threw him to the ground, securing his wrists in a pair of binders.

"Section clear!" Dottie shouted from the cockpit.

"Top," radioed Daniels. "Objective and Loc Bei are secured. Both are alive. Ship seems secure."

"Copy that, Nova Team" said Commander Vahle from the bridge of the _Zama_. "We're not picking up any unidentified life signs. Excellent work."

"It was nothing" Tallion replied, making a mental note to discipline Daniels for his stunt later. "Another day's work."

Suchi Temn looked up at the towering, scowling, 300-pound Trandoshan and recoiled in fear.

Daniels kneeled next to Suchi. "Hi" he said to the sobbing girl. "It's okay now. Colonel Tallion isn't going to hurt you. She's actually very sweet."

Tallion tried to smile, then remembered that most beings found her smiles creepy and turned away, re-sealing her helmet. No reason to cause a scared girl any more grief when the squad's cuddler was available.

"My name is Aldon Daniels, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Your father sent us here to get you back."

Suchi seemed to perk up when her father was mentioned.

"Really?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Really" said Daniels. "He's been very worried about you. Everyone on Tibrin has been. They all wanted us to come here and make sure you were safe."

"And I'm… safe now?" Suchi asked, as if she was afraid of the answer.

"Oh, you're very safe" Daniels replied.

"Uh… Nova Team?" Vahle said over the radio. "We may have a problem."

* * *

Only two kilometers from the disabled CR-110 corvette, a brown, angular _Interceptor_-class frigate emerged from hyperspace. At 400 meters long, the model bordered on a light cruiser, and was well known for its fast engines and powerful turbolasers, making it a serious threat to anything short of a purpose-built warship.

"Alright, boys" said a red-skinned Besalisk woman on the Interceptor's bridge. "You know what to do. Blast that ship and let's get out of here. Tyber Zann doesn't like to wait."

The frigate banked towards Loc Bei's corvette, four StarViper fighters peeling off of its hull.

* * *

"They hit the edge of the interdiction field" Captain Grel reported. "Must have been heading here anyways to help Bei out."

"Doesn't look like they are interested in helping now" said Vahle. "Nova Team, grab the girl and get off that ship. Surrounding units, protect the corvette at all costs." He pushed a button on his console to open a new channel. "Group 4, get in here. Now!'

Tambralynne Kusarni was not one who needed to be told more than once to get into the action. She hit the acceleration on her X-wing, followed soon after by Vega 2. The Marauder corvettes had been dragging the CR-110 back towards the planet, and one of them quickly disengaged its tractor beam and placed itself between the CR-110 and the Interceptor, forming a small but welcome defense for the unshielded corvette.

That barrier was soon tested as a pair of turbolaser blasts struck the Marauder, buckling its weak shields. The _Zama_, having taken orbit nearby to avoid spooking Bei during the hostage rescue, leaped into action, turbolaser and ion cannon fire bracketing the space around the Interceptor's slim profile. Even the interdictor _Certainty_ fired a few shots in its direction, though it was too far away to expect any accuracy.

The Marauder had just taken another hit and suffered an explosion by its engines when three more ships emerged from hyperspace. The first was an MC40c light cruiser, the _Insight_, whose small frame concealed a surprisingly large array of weapons. The other two were white-hulled Mk. II Alliance Assault Frigates, misnamed cruisers from the Rebellion Era with large, rounded prows that made the ships resemble whales. Each one had the symbol of the Tibrinese Defense Fleet and all three were larger than the Interceptor.

"Aw, Malachor" the Besalisk said. "Turn this ship around and get us out of the interdiction field! Fighters, take out that corvette!"

The four StarViper fighters dove towards the CR-110 and crippled Marauder, only to find two T-85 X-wings in their way.

Tambralynne wasted no time firing on the StarVipers, scattering their formation but scoring no hits. As the enemy fighters attempted to bypass the X-wings and converge on the CR-110, Tambralynne made a turn that would seem impossible to any other starfighter and shot off the lower wings of one StarViper as it rushed past her, sending it spirally out of control. She completed her 180-degree turn under inertial pressure that, even with the fighter's dampeners, would have knocked out a majority of beings in the galaxy and punched the acceleration, putting her directly on the other Viper's tail.

Vega 2 made a similar maneuver, but his turn was wider, giving his two StarVipers more distance as he pursued.

The undamaged Marauder corvette was light on weapons but not on spirit and fired big, bulky shots from its ion cannons in a desperate attempt to ward off the two StarVipers in front of Vega 2. Already calculating her next move in her head, Tambralynne put two laser bursts into the back of the StarViper in front of her and banked towards the other two, S-foils snapping back into travel position.

The lead StarViper reached the CR-110 and began to rake the unshielded craft with laser fire, causing Suchi to scream and bury her head in Daniels's arms. The StarViper reached the end of the corvette and was leaving the engine block in flames when Tambralynne came streaking in and scored two direct hits, smashing the fighter to pieces. Tambralynne's maneuver also had the second effect of placing her between the last remaining StarViper and the CR-110.

The StarViper, realizing how easily the Republic fighters had dispatched his squadron, decided to shift targets. As Tambralynne had hoped, her exposed rear was too tempting of a target for a pilot who realized he was going to have to get past the X-wings to escape regardless of the corvette's status. The StarViper slid into position behind Tambralynne and opened fire.

Tambralynne rotated her craft as she banked away from the CR-110. Despite her evasive maneuvers, her X-wing's rear shields absorbed one hit from the StarViper's light but rapidly-firing laser cannons, then another. A third one might have been trouble, but before that could happen, she and the StarViper crossed Vega 2's path, just as she had planned. The StarViper pilot, having gotten tunnel vision in his pursuit, didn't notice until Vega 2 put a laser blast in his ship's side, shattering it.

"Thoughtful of you to leave a kill for me" Vega 2 said.

"Like I said before," Tambralynne giggled. "Getting shot at is a lot more fun."

* * *

The Interceptor frigate, despite being under fire from four cruisers, swung out of the interdiction field with its shields still functional and prepared to jump into hyperspace.

Libras 3, 4 and 5, the B-wings who had helped disable Loc Bei's ship, had something to say about that, blasting the ship with their ion cannons. The shielding was proving to be too much, though. They could get through it, but not in time.

"Libra Squadron, full force authorized" Vahle said into his radio. "Cripple them."

"Copy, Top" said Libra 3. "Torpedoes out, Libra!"

Libra 4 and 5 wasted no time with replies as their targeting computers offered shots almost immediately. Three proton torpedoes struck the rear of the Interceptor. The engines buckled and exploded, sending the main section of the ship spinning into space. With propulsion gone and the ion cannons of _Zama_, _Insight_ and the Tibrinese cruisers pounding away, whatever illusions of resistance the ship had left quickly vanished.

On the bridge of the Interceptor frigate, smoke rising around her and emergency lighting overhead, the Besalisk woman, lying injured on the ground, pulled out a personal holocommunicator.

An image of a human male with long white hair appeared.

"Zann…" the Besalisk coughed. "The Republic forces were… too strong. We couldn't destroy it in time."

"Unfortunate," said the man. "If not unexpected. Tell Commander Vahle I said hello."

The transmission disconnected, leaving her to her fate.

* * *

Onboard the _Zama_, Commander Vahle looked over his holodisplay once, twice and then three times to confirm that all known threats were taken care of.

"Nova Team, this is Top" he said. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine, Top" Tallion said. "A little shook up. Ready to get off this this hunk of junk."

"We'll see what we can do about that, Nova" Vahle replied. "Good work, everybody. Let's clean this up and head back to Tibrin. I'm sure Suchi Temn would love to go home."


	3. Cataclysm - Part 2

The next few hours were a flurry of activity as pirate escape pods were rounded up, the CR-110 corvette was swept for contraband and the various new little debris fields caused by the fighting were logged and categorized. The damaged Marauder was towed to storage in the _Quasar Sun_-class carrier _Alderaan Spirit_, as was Loc Bei's corvette.

Back aboard the _Zama_, Commander Vahle stood patiently in the middle of the main hanger, hands folded behind his back, a veritable statue compared to the bustle around him. Tambralynne Kusarni, absent her helmet but otherwise still in her flight uniform, stood nearby, shifting weight from one foot to the other and occasionally twirling, unable to keep still for more than a few seconds. Lieutenant Daniels was to Vahle's right, having taken to one knee to reach the height of Suchi, who he was chatting with. Vahle had offered this honor to Colonel Tallion, but she had turned it down, as she often did. Lastly, further away and flanked by two New Republic Army Troopers was Loc Bei, sitting on the hanger floor with his arms cuffed behind his back. He looked none too pleased to be there.

As the shuttle landed in front of the group and its rear ramp began to descend, Major Chur materialized beside Vahle, clutching her datapad as always. "Nice of my Local Forces Liaison to drop by" said Vahle.

"You know the intel business, Commander" Chur replied. "Staying two steps ahead is a constant job."

"Yes, well, at least pretend to give the locals your attention" said Vahle. "You're supposed to be a diplomat as well as a spy."

"Commander Vahle!" came a loud voice from the top of the shuttle's ramp. A green Ishi Tib in gilded robes and flanked by two aides shuffled down the ramp, applauding slowly as he did so. "I must admit, I had my doubts, but you and your people pulled through. The Kalikeedan's daughter is safe, this rascal Bei is in binders and the people of Tibrin owe you our deepest thanks."

"The Republic is happy to be of service, Minister Irun" Vahle said. "The ships you loaned us from your planetary defense fleet proved key to our trap as well."

"But of course" said Irun. "Is that not how you Mobile Fleets are supposed to operate? We bring you a problem, loan you our forces and your specialists handle the rest?"

"The New Galactic Republic exists to serve its member planets" said Chur. "If it were the other way round, we would just be another Empire."

"Of course, of course" said Irun. "And nobody would want that."

Without another word, Irun and his aides moved past Vahle to Suchi and Daniels. "Come along, young one" he said. "It is time for you to return home to Tibrin."

Suchi looked at him and then back at Daniels, who gave her a little wave. The girl paused for a second and then threw her arms around Daniels's neck.

"Goodbye, Mr. Daniels" she said.

"Goodbye, Suchi" he replied.

As the young Ishi Tib followed Irun's aides back to the shuttle, the minister walked in front of Loc Bei.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Loc Bei, the Scourge of Okani, in the flesh."

"It's 'Scourge of Okawi'" Bei muttered.

"Well, it won't be either in very long" said Irun. "What made you so bold as to try and ransom the daughter of the holiest man on Tibrin?"

After a few seconds of silence from Bei, Major Chur stepped forward. "We believe the crime lord Tyber Zann is the one responsible for this affair," she said. "He has been causing chaos throughout the Mid and Outer Rim for months, challenging all sorts of lesser criminals to try bold new schemes for his so-called Consortium."

"I see" said Irun. "And why haven't you dealt with this Zann fellow yet?"

"He is difficult to find, and difficult to gather evidence against" Vahle said. "Tyber Zann never does anything himself that he can manipulate others into doing for him."

"Well, if your performance today was anything to go by, I feel confident that you will track him down eventually" said Irun.

"Thank you, Minister" Vahle replied, giving a slight bow. It was good to hear _someone_ still believed in the Republic's ability to do its job.

Irun turned and walked back to his shuttle, two Tibrinese soldiers dragging Bei behind him. The rest of Bei's crew and his 'reinforcements' were still being processed. They would be identified, sorted and handed off to the Tibrinese, the Republic Justice Ministry or other system governments, depending on how many had outstanding arrest warrants. But there seemed no reason to hold off handing over the big fish.

Vahle stood quietly as Minister Irun's shuttle left the hanger and the welcome party began to disperse.

"Hey, do you think this'll get on HoloNet News?" Vega 7 asked a group of mechanics working on his X-wing.

"Nah" said Warrant Officer Suzan Tuada, a Karkarodon mechanic. "The girl lived, so no one off of Tibrin cares. Now, if she'd died, there's be a week of nonstop coverage about everything we did wrong. No one watches 'The Republic is working' stories."

Vega 7 sighed. "Guess you're right."

Vahle had started towards the turbolift when he noticed one of the hanger crewmen staring away from the fuel canister he was supposed to be checking. Vahle thought to reprimand him, but decided first to check what he was staring at. Sure enough, more and more of the hanger crew's attention was caught, and the room nearly went quiet, a rarity for any hanger.

Outside the friendly blue glow of the energy shield keeping the hanger's atmosphere in, off in the infinite deepness of space, nestled between two stars themselves light-years apart was a red streak of light. By itself it likely would have warranted no attention; space was filled with strange nebulae and supernova remnants. But such things formed and changed slowly, over the course of thousands or millions of years. They did not spring to life in the blink of an eye.

Lieutenant Daniels had just noticed the light when it split into five new streaks, giving the appearance of the long-fingered hand of some extragalactic deity or hyperspace demon or primordial titan. At the tip of each finger, one by one, blossomed a bright light, though at this distance each tip was barely brighter than an ordinary star. A few seconds after that, the whole thing vanished, a bizarre cosmic light show lasting a mere minute.

"Well that was odd" said Tambralynne before returning her focus to her X-wing, preparing to fly it back to the _Alderaan Spirit_. The hanger began to slowly drift back to normalcy, only to be abruptly dragged there by the hanger chief's shout of "GET BACK TO WORK!"

Vahle and Major Chur entered their turbolift in silence. Both knew that such a cosmic event had to be extremely close to the system or involve truly extraordinary amounts of energy.

"Major, instruct Comms to send all sensor data related to that event to the Republic Astrographic Office for analysis" Vahle said.

"Of course, sir. Don't want the crew spreading rumors about Dravi Joules's hand cursing us, now do we?"

Vahle did not reward the comment with a response and Chur returned her attention to her datapad. Both of them knew that they had much bigger things to worry about than a freak cosmological event. Tyber Zann wasn't going to hunt down himself, now was he?

Back on the bridge, Commander Vahle walked over to his command station, hands once again behind his back where they belonged.

"Sir, the Tibrinese minister's shuttle has left the system" reported a staff member. "The Tibrinese Defense Fleet cruisers are still with us and are awaiting further instructions."

"Good" said Vahle. "We'll release them once we are confident Zann and Bei had no other schemes in the area."

Vahle turned to the Communications desk. "Have we received word from Republic Command?"

"No, sir" replied the ensign at Communications. "They acknowledged receiving our report, but we have detected no additional transmissions since."

"Very well. We are free to continue our hunt. Contact the Justice Ministry and have them send over all known criminal and mercenary hideouts in this sector. Let's start running Loc Bei's associates down."

"Yes, Commander" the ensign nodded. "Right away."

The next hour went quickly enough, Vahle reviewing maps of the sector, trying to trace Zann's supply lines. The frigate he had sent to assist Loc Bei was clearly a disposable asset, probably some mercenary or small-time gang Zann had co-opted, but it had come from somewhere. If Vahle could find that location, he'd be one step, albeit a small one, closer to Zann himself. Nearby, Major Chur was analyzing data from the CR-110's navcomputer, hoping to get a sense of where Bei was going, presumably some sort of safe house. Obviously, they could just ask Bei, but he had shown no signs of willingness to cooperate when he was handed over to the Tibrinese. The other captured criminals were either uncooperative or hired thugs with no information to share. This answer was probably going to have to be found the hard way.

"Ensign, has the Justice Ministry sent us those files yet?" Vahle asked.

"No, sir" the comms station ensign replied. "They have not acknowledged receiving the message either, sir. Neither has the Republic Astrographic Office."

Vahle frowned more than usual. "Have we received instructions from Republic Command?"

"No, sir, not in the last hour."

Vahle somehow frowned even more, one of his many talents. "Have we received any communications at all from Republic Command or any other Republic institution?"

The ensign shook his head. "No, sir. Radio silence, at least for us."

Major Chur turned to the commander. "There could be something wrong with our antenna" she suggested. Vahle doubted that, as the _Zama_, being an Acclamator-IV communications variant, had among the most advanced transmissions gear in the Republic navy. Still, technical malfunctions could happen to anyone.

"Contact Sluis Van" Vahle ordered, naming the primary Republic base for the southern quadrant of the galaxy. The ensign nodded and pushed a few buttons. Vahle, Chur, the ensign and an increasingly large crowd of curious bridge crew sat in silence. The ensign tried three different audio channels, but failed to get anything other than static. Attempts to contact Corona Base and Seara Minor also failed. Vahle was in the middle of ordering a physical inspection of the ship's long-range transmitter when the console beeped, signaling an incoming message.

"Do we have a response?" Vahle asked.

"Not exactly," the Comms ensign replied. "Transmitter code says it's Admiral Carr from the Fourth Main Fleet."

"Put it through" said Vahle with a not-well-hidden splash of impatience. He walked back to his station and its holodisplay, followed closely by Chur. A few seconds later, the full-body image of Vice Admiral Aras Carr appeared. A slightly overweight Rodian, Carr remained an imposing figure, well-known among the fleet for her exacting nature and intolerance of incompetence or laziness.

"Admiral Carr" said Vahle, his voice as nearly emotionless as ever. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Carr looked worried, which was uncharacteristic of her. Throughout the navy it was said that Carr could fly a ship through an ion storm and a supernova into the maw of an asteroid slug with a look of confidence on her face.

"Commander Vahle" Carr said. "I have been out performing exercises with a portion of the Fourth Fleet. Attempting to communicate with my headquarters at Sluis Van, I found myself unable to make contact."

"We've had the same problem here, Admiral" Vahle said. "We haven't been able to raise any Republic base in the region. Or Hosnian Prime, for that matter."

Carr stroked her chin in thought. "It sounds like we have a general breakdown in the galactic communications network."

"Accident or sabotage?" Vahle asked.

"Hard to say" Carr replied. "The sweeping nature of the blackout suggests a total system collapse, but the fact that our fleets are still in contact could mean a localized affair. I'm still getting civilian HoloNet signals, and they are reporting loss of signal at several locations, including the Hosnian System. I've sent some ships back to Sluis Van to investigate, but…"

Carr was interrupted by loud beeps on both ends of the transmission. "We've got an incoming signal" reported a comms worker to Vahle as one of Carr's crew did the same. Vahle nodded and a New Republic emblem appeared on the holodisplay next to Carr, indicating an audio-only transmission.

"Can anyone hear me?" came a voice. It was male, relatively young and very scared. "This is Republic Outpost Bos-Sigma-Six on Tren Roq! We are under heavy fire from unknown forces!"

"Outpost Bos-Sigma-Six, this is Vice Admiral Carr with the Fourth Main Fleet. What kind of enemy forces?"

The voice on the other end was silent for a second, as if its owner couldn't believe that they had actually been heard. "Oh, thank the Force! I thought for sure nobody was out there! I've been calling for over an hour, but no one's responded. It sounded like they were jamming us."

"The enemy forces, trooper" Carr demanded. "Who are they? What do they want?"

"I-I don't know who they are" the voice said. "Some kind of Imperials, I guess. They hit our space assets with some big ships, then bombed the base with some kind of TIE. Took out all our ships and our hanger. I don't know why they didn't hit the transmission tower. They started landing troops around the base, and brought in some big walkers! We're surrounded, but they haven't started pushing into the base yet. I don't know what they're waiting for."

"Well, trooper, they are waiting for us, whether they know it or not" said Carr. "Help is on the way."

"How long to Tren Roq?" Carr and Vahle asked their navigation officers at the same time. "Two hours, fifteen minutes" came the reply from Vahle's navigator. Carr's reported two and a half hours.

"We should form up and move in together" Vahle said.

Carr shook her head. "We don't know how long those ground forces are going to hold off attacking the base. Your fleet is faster. Get there, put troops planetside to reinforce our people down there. Get me a picture of what's going on and I'll smash through anything they've got in space."

"Understood" said Vahle, though he didn't sound like he liked it. "Take the fleet to Tren Roq immediately" he ordered. "Bring the Tibrinese cruisers with us. An attack on the Republic is an attack on them as well."

"Of course, sir."

"I'll see you at Tren Roq, Commander" said Carr. "Let's teach these Imperial wannabes a lesson they won't soon forget."

"Right…" Vahle muttered before ending the transmission. He stared out of the bridge's window as the Eighth Mobile Fleet began to turn in preparation for a jump to hyperspace.

"Tren Roq is on the border of the Unknown Regions" Major Chur said. "There are no inhabitants beyond a small Republic base built to service patrol craft. If it is being targeted…"

"Then our Imperial friends have some interest in the Unknown Regions" Vahle said. "They may even have attacked from there."

"If what our radioman said was true, then this is an act of war even the Senate will have a hard time ignoring" Chur said. "The Republic will need to respond in force."

"That's what I'm worried about" Vahle replied. "This attack and the communications blackout cannot be coincidences. Whoever these people are, whatever they want, they came prepared to stall the Republic's counterattack, which means that this is no impulsive action. They thought this through."

He stared out the window as the stars stretched.

"We may be rushing into a trap."

* * *

Aldon Daniels, fresh from being chewed out by Tallion over surrendering to Loc Bei, had just been getting into his long-postponed post-mission shower when the call came to assemble for deployment. Grumbling, he collected his gear and headed back to the hanger.

"We find Zann already?" he asked the assembling troops.

"Doesn't sound like it" Trooper Noarh said. "Whatever it is, Command's spooked about it. Want us prepared for anything."

"Anything?" Daniels asked.

"Anything" Noarh said, pointing behind him at a crew of mechanics loading a T2-B ground assault vehicle onto a U-wing. "We're bringing the tanks."

"Intel suggests walkers" said Shade as he checked his technical equipment. Nearby, Trooper Lon'ti and a group of army soldiers were moving crates of hand-held plex missiles. Lon'ti, a Selkath, was the only one in the hanger with anything resembling a smile on his face.

"Alright troops, listen up!" shouted Major Paneer, commander of the fleet's army detachment. The Grannan stood on a box, Colonel Tallion on the ground beside him. In theory, she should be the one doing this, as the Eighth Mobile's Commander of Ground Forces, but such work had never been her specialty.

"A Republic outpost on Tren Roq has been attacked by unknown hostiles" Paneer said. "Their exact nature and purpose is unclear, but we are expecting heavy resistance. The mission is simple: Get on the ground, secure a perimeter, prepare to evac any wounded or non-combat personnel and await further orders. Is that clear?"

The assembled army troopers gave a hearty shout in affirmation. The Galactic Marines were quieter, with most just giving a brief nod.

"Get to the shuttles" Paneer ordered. "We deploy the instant we're out of hyperspace."

* * *

In the massive hanger of the _Alderaan Spirit_, the atmosphere held no tension, just pure energy as the pilots and crew ran around, trying to get four squadrons of starfighters ready for deployment.

Wing Commander Tambralynne Kusarni weaved in and out of the groups, checking on each of her squad leaders. Vahle wanted the entire wing out of the hanger the minute they left hyperspace.

"What can we expect, Commander?" asked Libra 1, a yellow Quarran.

"Don't know yet" Tambralynne replied. "Top's afraid that it's big, though. Wants your squadron armed with the heavy anti-ship torpedoes."

"Makes sense" Libra 1 said. "We don't get called out unless the target's big. If the opposition is light craft, the rest of the squads should be able to clean it up."

"That's the plan!" Tambralynne shouted, having already moved on.

"Good job disabling that corvette" she said as she passed Libra 3, patting him on the back.

"Boss, droid says your ship's still a little banged up from the last fight" said Vega 2, materializing next to her along with BR-17, a pink and blue rolling astromech unit. "Shield generator's not back at 100%."

"We don't have time to replace it, so I'll just have to live with it" Tambralynne replied. "I can handle that."

"If you say so" Vega 2 said. "Maybe try to get shot up a little less this time?"

BR-17 beeped in agreement. Tambralynne shrugged.

Above them, Chief Dorath, a stocky Bothan, stood on a catwalk and watched the hanger with arms crossed. Attempting a rapid full wing deployment was always a tricky thing, but with little time to prepare and both Loc Bei's CR-110 corvette and the fleet's damaged Marauder occupying the hanger, things became very cramped indeed. Dorath's mechanics were forced to bend a few safety rules to ensure everything was fueled and loaded in time.

"I hope you don't spring something like this on me again" he shouted down to Tambralynne as she passed by.

"I don't make promises. I make results!" the Zeltron shouted back up.

"I suppose that's why you're always taking point, instead of coordinating your snubfighters from the deck like the books say you should" Dorath replied.

"No better way to lead than by leading the charge" Tambralynne replied. "Pilot can't complain about what I tell them to do when I'm doing twice as much myself."

"The front's no place for a Wing Commander" Dorath said, shaking his head.

"You have a problem, take it up with Vahle" Tambralynne said, walking off.

Dorath chuckled. He was teasing, mostly. The joke throughout the fleet was that Vahle kept Kusarni in charge of the fleet's fighter wing because she was the only one she'd take orders from. But whatever the bureaucrats back at Hosnian Prime said whenever Kusarni crashed something and they tried to remove her, she could speak to her pilots in their own language, and every one of them would follow her into a supernova without question. Dorath had worked with a lot of pilots over the years and had hated a fair number of them. But Tambralynne Kusarni was something special. Everyone had to admit that.

Even if most doubted she'd survive to retirement.

* * *

Back on the bridge, Commander Vahle sat down, staring at his console as the numbers counting down to realspace got smaller and smaller. Though his expression was as stern as ever, the few people who knew him well would be able to perceive a sliver of concern in his eyes. He still had no idea what he was bringing his fleet against, but they didn't sound like pirates.

"It's almost time, sir" Chur said as she sat down beside him.

"I am aware" Vahle replied.

"Waiting is always the hardest part" Chur said.

"I am aware" Vahle said, irritation creeping into his voice.

"The fleet can handle this" Chur reassured him. "And Admiral Carr is only a few minutes behind us."

Vahle didn't say anything, and Chur returned her focus to the map of the space around Tren Roq that she had pulled up on her datapad.

Neither wanted to consider what would happen if she was wrong.

* * *

The Eighth Mobile Fleet snapped into realspace in perfect formation. The MC40c cruiser _Insight_ was in the lead, _Zama_ to its rear and starboard, the interdictor frigate _Certainty_ and carrier _Alderaan Spirit_ behind them both. The two Tibrinese cruisers each took up one side of the formation, and the fleet's four _Raider_-class corvettes and functioning Marauder were scattered between the larger ships.

Vahle had ordered the jump to end a bit further back from Tren Roq than was standard, and as _Insight_, _Zama_ and _Alderaan Spirit_ began deploying the fighter squadrons scattered between them, that was proving to be a wise decision.

Floating over the planet were two hulking behemoths of slate-grey metal, each one four times the length of _Zama_. The massive triangles were topped by squat but familiar bridge towers, and only the slightest examination was needed to tell that they bristled with weapons.

The bridge was silent, except for one officer at Navigation's brief profanity.

Vahle recovered quickly. "Open a channel" he ordered. After a second of stillness, he gave the order again.

The bridge snapped to life as the personnel scrambled to their tasks, but most of them spent any free second they had staring at the ships out the front window.

These definitely weren't pirates.

Vahle's traditionally emotionless expression served him well as contact with the mystery ships was established. This was no place to show fear.

"Unidentified ships, this is Commander Marius Vahle of the New Republic Eighth Mobile Fleet" Vahle said, deciding to start with a by-the-book approach in preparation for the inevitable Senate investigation that would second-guess his every decision. "You are intruding on New Republic military space. Please state your identity and purpose."

A hologram appeared before him, showing a human woman, probably in her late 50s or early 60s. Though there was grey in her pulled-back hair and wrinkles on her face, a fire still burned in her black eyes.

"Commander Vahle, I am Admiral Dido Asardus of the First Order's 12th Attack Group" she said, her voice confident.

"First Order?" Vahle muttered under his breath. Somehow that wasn't a surprise, though how they'd gotten ships twice the length of an Imperial Star Destroyer were beyond him.

"Admiral Asardus, this is Republic space" Vahle said. "Your unsolicited presence here is a violation of the Galactic Concordance. If you do not immediately remove your ships from this system, it will be treated as a possible act of war." Vahle glanced at his holodisplay, mentally counting the seconds until all of his fighter squadrons were in play. All he needed was time.

"Commander Vahle, I am afraid that the Galactic Concordance, signed as it was by sniveling traitors, is not currently in effect. This system is Imperial space, being pacified of insurrection in the name of the Supreme Leader, rightful successor of His Majesty the Emperor, may He rest in peace."

_Delusions of grandeur, check_ Vahle thought. _Definitely the First Order._

Asardus's two massive Star Destroyers – they looked like they might be big enough to be classified as battlecruisers – began moving towards the Eighth Mobile. Vahle could tell that the formalities were about at their end.

"Admiral Asardus," he said, summoning every ounce of officiality he could muster, "you are hereby ordered to deactivate all weapons, engines and shields and submit to an inspection."

She laughed. She actually laughed. Vahle wasn't surprised, exactly, but he still felt offended.

After a second or two, Asardus caught herself, straightened posture and glared into the holoprojector.

"And you, Commander, are ordered to surrender your ships and bow before the glory of your Supreme Leader."

For several seconds, Vahle and Asardus stared into each other's' eyes, trying to measure the other one's resolve.

At once, both turned their heads to someone on their bridge and spoke a single word.

"Fire" said Asardus.

"Execute" ordered Vahle, slightly faster.

The Battle of Tren Roq had begun.

* * *

The main batteries of the First Order's fleet opened with a powerful pre-sighted volley, aimed straight for Vahle's main ships. Unfortunately for them, the Republic fleet's early exit from hyperspace had left considerable distance between the ships, reducing the barrage's accuracy. This was made worse by the Eighth Mobile's simultaneous starboard banking maneuver, moving their ships from the positions they had held during the brief parley. Straining their inertial compensators to their limits, the ships shifted power to their ventral shields as they rapidly turned away from Asardus and towards Tren Roq. A few hard turbolaser and ion cannon blasts struck, but the shields would hold for the brief minute needed to get the curve of the planet between the two fleets.

On the bridge of the _Resurgent_-class Star Destroyer _Requiem_, Admiral Dido Asardus examined her prey. A Republic Mobile Fleet, while a valuable prize, was not the quarry she had hoped her bait would draw in. At the same time, though, the perfection of their evasion maneuver indicated that their leadership was not paralyzed with fear as some would be in the face of two unexpected battlecruisers. If anything, the fleet's efficiency meant that must have been following orders given before they had even arrived in the system. Before they had even known what threat they faced.

This Commander Vahle was an interesting one. Perhaps he would make this a worthy battle after all.

"Sir, they are trying to slip around the planet" an officer reported.

"I can see that, Lieutenant" Asardus snapped. "Continue to move the cruisers forward. Send in the TIEs."

She might respect Vahle's performance so far, but that wouldn't change his fate.

"Admiral, the enemy has deployed a squadron heading towards the planet" an officer from Sensors called out. "It seems to be headed towards the Republic base on the ground."

As predicted.

"Intercept and eliminate" Asardus said. She pressed a button, and a hologram of a stormtrooper appeared before her.

"Captain, the usefulness of the Tren Roq garrison is at an end. Move in and eradicate them."

"Yes, sir" said the stormtrooper. As he deactivated his holocommunicator, the trooper took a brief moment to crack his knuckles before signaling the walker standing above him to begin the advance.

Time to show these pampered wannabes what a real army looked like.

* * *

"Admiral Carr, we have established hostile contact above Tren Roq" Commander Vahle said into his console. "It's the First Order. They have two large battlecruisers, unknown ground forces and are looking for a fight."

"Understood, Commander" Carr replied. "My forces are-"

The hologram crackled and dissolved.

"Comms?" Vahle asked the Communications staff.

"They've started jamming us, sir" an ensign replied. "Extra-system communications are a no-go."

"Of course" Vahle muttered. "Study their jamming output and devise countermeasures."

"Presumably they were jamming Tren Roq's distress call before we received it" Major Chur said. "So why did they stop, only to restart?"

"Because someone took their bait" Vahle replied.

"Us."

* * *

Strapped tightly into a seat in the back of an _Omicron_-class shuttle, Aldon Daniels briefly checked his chronometer, the pilot's estimate of time to the surface firmly in his mind.

The ground reinforcements had been the first units out of the hangers, and were headed towards Base Bos-Sigma-Six even before Vahle had established communications with Asardus. Four UT-80 U-wing transports, three swept-wing Omicron assault shuttles and the _Raider_-class corvette _Vrogas Vas_ made up the landing force, escorted by the 12 T-85 X-wings of Cetus Squadron and two of the fleet's six _Excelsior_-class escort gunboats.

"Hitting atmosphere now" said the pilot of one of the gunboats, _E-41_, over the intercom to the rest of his crew. "No targets yet on sensors."

Resembling a grey brick with engines and a few Republic Blue lines down its hull, the _Excelsior_-class, universally known as the "Eskie," was a marvel of Republic engineering despite looking nothing like the sort. A mere 30 meters long, the ship was only slightly longer than two X-wings but stuffed 6 or 7 crewmembers, powerful engines, a hyperdrive and strong shields into a durable, if uncomfortably tight, package.

The reason for the high crew numbers was readily apparent to anyone who saw an Eskie, as the ship featured no less than five manned rapid-fire laser turrets, facing in all directions.

As the ground convoy descended into Tren Roq's atmosphere, the gunners strained their eyes to see anything through the cloud cover. They had sensor targeting, of course, but shooting at something you couldn't directly see was always a tricky proposition.

"I've got movement" the _E-41_'s port gunner reported. An instantly recognizable blocky shape formed in the clouds. "It's a TIE. Looks like it's checking us out"

"Command's given us free fire discretion" the pilot said. "Light 'em up."

The port gunner replied not with words but with action, sending several laser blasts at the TIE. The fighter attempted to evade and dove downwards, but not before taking a hit straight to its wing-like solar panels. The bolt dissipated without apparent effect.

"Holy nerfs!" the port gunner shouted. "That TIE's shielded!"

"Shielded TIEs? That's just not fair!" the dorsal gunner replied.

As the TIE dove away, _E-41_'s ventral gunner put three laser blasts into it from above, causing a clearly fatal explosion.

"They ain't that shielded" the ventral gunner reported. "A balloon with shields is still a balloon."

"Understood" said the pilot. "Double-tap everything you shoot, just to be sure."

"No problem" the starboard gunner said. "We got this."

Then the ships exited the cloud layer and saw the smoke coming from the surface.

* * *

Back in space, Tambralynne Kusarni and the rest of the Eighth Mobile's starfighter corps held formation quietly behind the fleet's capital ships. The arc of the planet was now in the fleet's favor, and few of the First Order's turbolaser shots connected.

"Everyone alright?" she queried. A quick check confirmed that Vega, Altair and Libra Squadrons were intact.

"Top, we can't run like this forever" Libra 1 said. "When do we go in?"

"Patience" Vahle said, studying a holodisplay of the battle carefully. "You'll get your chance."

Part of the holodisplay flashed red. Dozens of sensor pings were moving towards the fleet at high speed.

"TIE fighter swarm inbound" Vahle reported. "Prepare to defend the fleet."

"Copy" Tambralynne said as Vega Squadron swung around. The Eighth Mobile's cruisers were already firing at the swarm, though it was too far to expect any effect.

"Libra Squadron, stay behind the cruisers" Vahle ordered. He needed all of his B-wings saved for strikes on the Star Destroyers, assuming they made it that far. "Eskies and Raiders form a firing line to chew them up. Vega, only strike when they get close. Altair, take position to crush their flank."

"Copy that" said Altair 1, leading her squadron of A-wings towards the upper atmosphere of the planet, ready to turn and strike.

Vahle found himself a bit puzzled by the TIEs' plan of attack, but if these First Order pilots wanted to charge into the maw of the Eighth Mobile's considerable anti-fighter defenses, they were welcome to do so.

* * *

"Admiral, the enemy is massing anti-fighter weaponry in front of our attack."

"Good" Asardus said, staring at her own holodisplay. "Tell the squadrons to begin the maneuver."

Too easy.

* * *

The TIEs had just about reached the effective range of Vahle's weapons when the formation split into three packs, each going in a different direction as they attempted to encircle the fleet. One pack went towards each planetary horizon and the third out towards space, all resembling giant fishhooks at they prepared to strike from the flank and rear.

Vahle reacted instantly. "Vega, hit the outer group, Altair, slash the lower, gunnery focus on the upper! Libra, prepare to engage fighters!"

Despite brief confusion as to which enemy group was which, the squadrons leaped into action. Using _Zama_ as a reference point, its prow pointed towards Tren Roq, and its ventral side towards the enemy, a group of TIEs was attempting to go above, below and behind the ship. The corvettes and Eskies quickly focused their fire on the group heading over _Zama_, Vega cut to intercept the one headed behind it and Altair's A-wings charged at the one going below it.

"Let 'em have it!" Altair 1 shouted, her A-wings unleashing a barrage of anti-fighter concussion missiles at the lower pack. At this distance, such missiles could be fairly easily evaded, but only if the TIEs broke their tight formation. Sure enough, they scattered, avoiding the missiles but leaving no fighters able to engage the A-wings head-on as Altair slammed into the group.

The outer group had more time to react and peeled off several TIEs to engage Vega Squadron. Tambralynne was fine with that. A head-on fight favored her X-wings, unless these TIEs had somehow massively improved their durability.

The Raider corvettes and Eskies angled to pursue the upper group of TIEs, but the sudden nature of the course change and the TIEs' incredible speed meant that the corvettes could only nip at the fighters' heels.

"Libra, prepare to slash" Vahle ordered. B-wings were not built for this, but it was better than leaving them sitting still.

The upper pack of TIEs, save one or two unlucky flameouts, crested the _Zama_ and began to dive only to be met by Libra Squadron charging upwards, lasers and ion cannons firing. B-wings could not outmaneuver TIEs, but in head-on confrontation it was agility advantages that were lost. The TIEs scattered and attempted to get behind their targets, but Libra Squadron made no attempt to maneuver or dogfight, simply charging through the formation. The strike bombers' anti-capital ship weaponry didn't hit many TIEs, but it made quick work of the ones it did. Libra raced over the side to the relative sanctuary of the Eskies' guns as the _Zama_'s own weapons took over the battle.

* * *

"We've got a problem" one of the U-wing pilots reported. "LZ's no good."

Base Bos-Sigma-Six was a small complex built on a relatively flat clearing in Tren Roq's otherwise thick jungle. The main base consisted of two short but wide buildings, a living quarters with a courtyard that made it resemble a square ring and an administrative building attached to it. Beside the administrative building was a dome-shaped hanger with a large concrete landing platform stretched out in front of it. A tall tower with an antenna and a shield generator dominated the area.

The problem was immediately obvious. The landing pad was covered in scorch marks and the burning husks of several small spacecraft. The hanger had a massive column of smoke billowing out of its entrance. Neither looked like a safe place to set down.

To make matters worse, two AT-AT walkers had emerged from the jungle and were firing at the base's transmission tower. Several AT-ST light walkers and infantry transports were moving across the damaged tarmac. Even without the obstruction, landing in front of them would be suicidal.

"Convoy, wave off to the east" ordered the lead Omicron shuttle. "Don't want to jump in front of those AT-ATs."

"4, 5, 7, strike on those walkers" Cetus 1 called out. Cetus 9, 10 and 11 had already broken off to chase two more TIEs and Cetus 8 had taken a serious enough hit that she had been sent back to the carrier, so fighter cover was wearing thin. Fortunately, most of the First Order TIEs seemed to be in space. Otherwise, this landing would be in serious trouble.

Cetus 4, 5 and 7 dove at the AT-ATs and sprinkled the soldiers around them with laser bolts. As the X-wings pulled up, two white trails of smoke followed them, clearly from handheld anti-air rockets.

"They've got plex!" Cetus 5 shouted as the X-wings scattered and rolled to evade the missiles. A few seconds later, two powerful bursts of rapid-fire green laser blasts shot up from the ground, revealing two squat, quadrupedal walkers whose backs were covered in massive clusters of anti-fighter guns. The AT-AA's octuple cannons swept the sky like green spotlights, promising instant death to any fighter or transport that crossed their path.

"We have to get on the ground" Colonel Tallion said into the radio. "Can we land further into the facility?"

"Maybe" the lead U-wing pilot said as the landing force skirted around the base's landing pad, the U-wing door guns and Eskie turrets peppering the First Order troops approaching the base with inaccurate but hopefully intimidating fire.

"There's a courtyard in the middle there" said Cetus 9, returning to the formation. "Might fit the Raider if you don't mind scratching the paint."

"Go for it" Tallion ordered. "Cetus, do everything you can to those walkers."

"Copy".

The transports dove towards the courtyard, the three _Omicron_-class shuttles touching down on the roof of the surrounding building and disgorging their troops as the U-wings dipped into courtyard and released two platoons and two T2-B light repulsor tanks strapped in specially-made compartments on the underside. As the U-wings and Omicrons took off, the _Vrogas Vas_ barely managed to lower its dagger-shaped frame into the diagonal of the courtyard. The corvette's main ramp dropped and dozens of troops and medical personnel spilled out.

A spiky-haired Zeltron in a New Republic technician's uniform stuck his head out from a door to the courtyard.

"I don't believe it!" he cried out. "You actually came!"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that" said Tallion, using her suit's jets to descend from the rooftop along with the rest of the Galactic Marines. Daniels was right behind her. "The Republic leaves no one behind."

"If you say so" the Zeltron said.

Above them, the U-wings and Omicron shuttles flew off to avoid exposing themselves to attack, Eskies in tow. A technician from the _Vrogas Vas_ activated a portable shield generator and covered the roof of the courtyard in a translucent blue bubble. Hopefully it would protect them from airstrikes, at least for the moment.

"Get your wounded and non-combat people onto the ship" Daniels said to the Zeltron. A shot from an AT-AT slammed into the transmission tower overhead, sending sparks, embers and shrapnel bouncing off of the shield.

"They're already coming!" the Zeltron shouted. "We'll never evacuate in time!"

Tallion grabbed the man by the shoulder. "Those cloacae are our problem, not yours. Nova Team, move out" she shouted, gesturing in the direction of the AT-AT approach.

"Going up against those maniacs? What, are you trying to win the Republic Star?" the Zeltron asked. Tallion grunted and shoved him as she followed her Galactic Marines.

"Nah, the Colonel's not in the Republic Star business" Daniels said, patting the technician on the shoulder. "After the second one, she ran out of room in her medal drawer."

He signaled a platoon of army troopers and they all disappeared into the base.

* * *

Back in space, the outer pack of TIEs had managed to largely avoid destruction from Vega Squadron's attack. They were, however, being pushed back, far away from their goal of the _Zama_'s engines.

The upper TIE group had successfully reached _Zama_, but Libra Squadron's rush had disoriented them, and though the TIEs fired laser blasts and a few concussion missiles into the Acclamator, they had little time before two Eskies appeared above them, turrets blazing. The TIEs bid a hasty retreat back under _Zama_. This also gave them a chance to come to the aid of the lower group, which had scattered in the face of Altair Squadron's ferocious strike and was now engaged in a brutal dogfight for its survival. The attack was faltering.

Back on _Requiem_, Admiral Asardus continued to stare at her holodisplay. Vahle had responded to her tactic well, and even with the skill of First Order pilots on her side, the Republic's elite fighter corps was quite effective. Their pilots in-atmosphere had chased off the squadron she had left over the base, and she dared not send further TIEs down there for fear of weakening her fleet's defense against the likely Republic counterattack.

But it did not matter. Her pilots, in their bravery, had achieved their goal – slowing down Vahle's retreat around Tren Roq and allowing her Star Destroyers to put the Eighth Mobile Fleet in the crosshairs once again.

"Admiral, additional ships coming out of hyperspace" a sensors officer reported. Sure enough, space bent to reveal between the two fleets a long, thin vessel with a massive prow. The unmistakable silhouette of a _Starhawk_-class battleship.

A second Starhawk appeared behind it, followed by the distinctive curves of an MC90 star cruiser to their left. An _Endurance_-class fleet carrier came in behind them, as did an _Aquitens_-class light cruiser and a smattering of corvettes.

"Commander Vahle" said Aras Carr, standing proudly on the bridge of the second Starhawk, _Ortanic_. "The Fourth Main Fleet has arrived. Let's get to work, shall we?"


	4. Cataclysm - Part 3

If the battle had seemed chaotic before, Admiral Carr's arrival sent things into absolute anarchy.

"Redirect fire on that Starhawk!" Asardus shouted.

"Bring the fleet around!" Vahle directed.

"All units, target that battlecruiser" Carr ordered.

Carr's Starhawks, _Ortanic_ and _Borhala_, and the MC90 _Wisdom_ opened fire on the closer of Asardus's two ships, the _Reclaimer_, heavy turbolaser and ion cannon shots slamming against its powerful shields. X-wings, B-wings and A-wings began pouring not just from their hangers, but from those of the _Endurance_-class fleet carrier _Fortitude_, which had two and a half times the carrying capacity of the _Alderaan Spirit_ and was prepared to use every inch of it.

"Attack squadrons, redirect towards that carrier" Asardus ordered, fully prepared to exploit a quirk in the fleet's positioning. As Carr's fleet had exited hyperspace at the traditional terminus for Tren Roq, not the earlier drop point Vahle had used, her ships were ahead of Vahle's and almost on top of Asardus's. While this immediately turned the battle into a point-blank broadside melee, it also meant that Carr's fleet carrier, seemingly positioned safely behind her heavy ships, was actually in front of the remnants of the TIE force that had attacked _Zama_. The fighters immediately broke off their dogfight with the Eighth Mobile and raced towards _Fortitude_, split into two battered but still large packs.

"Altair, Vega, pursue and eliminate those TIEs." Vahle ordered. "Protect the carrier. Libra, make a run on the Star Destroyers. Cetus, head up and rendezvous with Libra, hit the SDs from below while they're distracted."

"Are you sure, sir?" Cetus 1 asked. "That'll cost our ground forces their air cover."

"I know" Vahle replied. "But if we don't break these ships, it's not going to matter. Get it done."

Carr's own attack force, the X-wings of Draco and the B-wings of Scorpius Squadrons, were already rushing past the Starhawks to engage the _Reclaimer_. A squadron of TIEs rose up to meet them, hoping to have better luck as defenders than attackers.

"It looks like we arrived just in time" Carr radioed to Vahle.

"We appreciate the assistance, Admiral" Vahle replied.

"I can do more than assist, Commander" Carr said with a gruff smile. "Draco Squadron, form up around Kappa. Kappa Squadron, break them in half."

For almost any other type of starfighter squadron, such orders would seem overly dramatic. But for the K-wing Heavy Assault Bombers of Kappa Squadron, shattering Star Destroyers was just what they were built to do.

With a flat head resembling a salamander's and two thick horizontal wings with twin moveable s-foils below them, the K-wing was never a finalist in snubfighter beauty contests. But what it lacked in aerodynamic grace or smooth silhouette it more than made up for with weapons and more weapons. In addition to the wide-arc laser turret placed beneath the cockpit to fire at foes in front, to the side or even below, the K-wing's wings were covered in all manner of projectile weapons. Eschewing the internal storage system used by most snubfighters to hold missiles and torpedoes, the K-wing possessed the highest ordinance capacity of anything short of a StarFortress Ultraheavy Bomber while retaining speed, agility and a slim target profile. The external ordinance mounts allowed Republic technicians to quickly and easily load and reload the K-wing with any conceivable combination of proton bombs, ion torpedoes, anti-fighter concussion missiles or more exotic weapons, though at the cost of safe hyperspace capability. But being tied to carrier was a small price to pay for the New Republic's foremost anti-capital-ship system. The larger burden for K-wing pilots and co-pilots was the lack of worthy targets, as in the post-Concordance galaxy hostile capital ships above a light cruiser were hard to come by.

This seemed to be Kappa Squadron's lucky day.

* * *

"Admiral, Republic K-wings are approaching _Reclaimer_" a bridge officer informed Asardus. The admiral frowned. As her own ship, _Requiem_, poured its fire into one of the Starhawks, Republic forces were continuing to focus on _Reclaimer_, seemingly intent on breaking it quickly rather than take on both ships at once.

"Concentrate the defensive fighters on those bombers" Asardus ordered.

"They are already engaged on multiple fronts" an ensign replied. "Republic fighter coverage is starting to overwhelm them."

Asardus briefly clenched a fist and was about to give another order when a communications officer informed her of an incoming transmission.

"Admiral Asardus, this is Major Sidna of Fel Squadron" came a gruff voice via her console. "We just got back from polishing off that fleeing Republic corvette. Looks like you're in quite a mess. How can we assist?"

Asardus resisted the urge to remark on Sidna's tone, which was dripping with enough arrogance to make the offer sound like an insult. "K-wing squadron is approaching the _Reclaimer_" Asardus said. "Eliminate it. Maximum priority."

"Roger that" Sidna replied. "Don't worry, ma'am. Special Forces don't fail."

* * *

The building shook slightly as another AT-AT shot impacted. Tallion ignored it.

Nova Team and a platoon of New Republic Army Troopers were spread out amongst the offices along the main hall of the Bos-Sigma-Six's administrative building. Ten feet ahead of them the hall opened up into a balcony overseeing the lobby, a staircase on either side descending into the reception area for whatever kind of dignitary would visit an outpost like this. The lobby had big glass windows to give a wide view of the landing platform and surrounding jungle, and some sort of statue took up the middle of the room.

Or, at least, it used to.

The front windows were gone. The statue was tipped over and in pieces. Random bits of debris smoldered and burned, filling much of the room with smoke.

Clearly, resisting AT-AT fire had not been on the architect's mind.

Daniels checked his chronometer. "It's been 30 seconds since the last impact" he said.

"Think they've finally stopped?" Henli asked. Tallion shrugged.

"You think they're just going to give up that easily?" asked one of the army troopers.

"No way" said Daniels. "But their troops can't assault a position if they're still bombarding it."

"That is correct" DT-3 said, her three photoreceptors slowly rotating around her head, ensuring that she could always observe her surroundings. "An imminent infantry assault is highly probable."

"Are you prepared for this, Dottie?" Daniels asked. "We're going to need lethal force."

"Of course, Lieutenant" Dottie replied. "I am programmed to obey the Republic Code of Police and Military Conduct at all times without fail. This attack is clearly an act of war as described under Section 4 Subsection D. Lethal force to repel such an act is indeed justified."

"I've got contact" Shade reported, staring at his wrist-mounted holodisplay. One of his small probe droids hovered near the ceiling of the lobby, attempting to peek through the smoke to see the landing pad. "Several repulsorlift vehicles, look like transports, two AT-STs."

"Move up" Tallion ordered. The lobby had been indefensible with the AT-ATs firing into it. But now they might have a chance.

Daniels and several other soldiers advanced, taking cover behind what remained of the balcony's guardrails, Dottie crouching to conceal her tall frame. The cover wouldn't likely stop a blaster bolt, but it gave a speck of concealment, and they had an excellent view of anything coming through the front door. Not to mention a height advantage. It would do.

For over a minute the room was silent except for the crackling of the flames down below. The soldiers checked their weapons or looked around at the comrades they might never see again. One or two muttered a quiet prayer.

"Incoming" Shade reported, still staring at his holodisplay. Back down the hall, Trooper Lon'ti hefted a plex missile launcher onto his shoulder and waited for the signal.

Tallion raised two fingers and the rest of the troops on the balcony understood, raising their thermal detonators. Tallion steadied her heavy blaster on the guardrail. The signal was not going to be difficult to understand.

For another thirty seconds there was near-silence, save for a distant mechanical sound, which was probably a walker. Then, finally, _finally_, they appeared.

They emerged from the smoke like wraiths, a dozen or more white-and-black soldiers covered head to toe, blasters raised as they swept for hostiles. Stormtroopers, without a doubt. Their helmets looked a bit different from the infamous ones of the old Empire, but it didn't matter. The effect was the same.

Tallion didn't want to keep them waiting. Without a word, the Trandoshan pulled her trigger and sent a burst of automatic fire into the lobby below. Half a dozen thermal detonators followed, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

"Come on! Keep on 'em, keep on 'em!"

The X-wings of Vega Squadron and the A-wings of Altair Squadron were now thoroughly mixed into a big wedge as they chased the remnants of Asardus's initial TIE force towards Carr's fleet. Every so often, a TIE or two would peel off from the pack to attack the pursuing forces, but none of them lasted very long. At this point the question was not whether or not the TIE formation would be destroyed, but if it could be done before it damaged Carr's ships.

The TIEs dashed around a few turbolaser shots from an _Arquitens_-class cruiser and dove for the fleet carrier _Fortitude_. Laser fire from the carrier itself, two Eskies guarding it and the pursuing Altair and Vega Squadrons did nothing to deter the TIEs, whose own lasers slammed against _Fortitude_'s shields. Half of the TIEs flew up towards the bridge tower while the others charged at the blue shield covering the massive starboard hanger.

The TIEs were quick, but they were not subtle, and _Fortitude_'s hangermaster had already activated the emergency hanger doors, driving two massive hunks of durasteel towards each other. Some TIEs scattered, but four kept up their approach, aiming for the closing gap between the doors, lasers firing wildly. A shot from Altair 3 caught one TIE in the back, but the other three were going too fast. The lead TIE shot between the doors and slammed into the hanger floor, sending debris and burning fuel flying all over the hanger. The two other TIEs collided with the doors as they sealed, an impact hard enough to shake the ship.

"These guys are insane!" Vega 2 shouted.

"Doesn't matter!" Tambralynne replied. "Keep them off the bridge!"

That was easier said than done, as all of the surviving TIEs raced up _Fortitude_'s bridge tower, firing their lasers without concern for accuracy or overheating. Several blasts breached the local shield and slammed into the bridge's side armor plating, sending sparks and smoke drifting off into space.

These TIEs were less desperate than the ones striking the hanger and none crashed into the bridge, instead shooting past it and racing away from the ship. They might be fleeing, but Tambralynne thought it more likely that they were trying to regroup for another dive on the bridge.

"_Fortitude_, report!" Admiral Carr demanded.

The captain, a red Twi'lek male, stumbled slightly as he appeared on the hologram link Carr and Vahle were sharing.

"Bridge is dented but still intact" the captain reported. "Starboard hanger took a hit, is containing fires and secondary explosions. Its bulkheads were damaged after they closed; looks like they won't be able to open again without repairs."

"Understood, Captain" Carr said. "Commander Vahle, we need this fight ended quickly. Shift your ships to offense."

"Yes, Admiral" Vahle replied. "Vega Squadron, Altair 1 through 6, break off pursuit and head towards the enemy battlecruisers. The rest of you mop up those TIEs."

"Copy that, Top!" Tambralynne declared, rolling her X-wing into a new orientation, closing her S-foils and punching the throttle to a level the official New Republic Starfighter Corps Handbook listed as "discouraged."

* * *

"Dets!" a stormtrooper shouted as the lobby erupted with blaster fire.

The Republic's rain of explosive silver spheres inflicted a few casualties but, more importantly, shattered the stormtroopers' formation, sending them scattering in all directions as the wall of fire from above mowed them down.

From the smoke came a stream of large, rapid-fire blaster bolts, tearing into the wall behind the Republic troops and sending most of them to the floor as the shots barely passed overhead. Clearly one of the AT-STs was providing close fire support.

"Lon'ti!" Tallion shouted. The Selkath fired his plex missile into the smoke, trusting the telemetry from Shade's droid to guide the rocket to target. The AT-ST reacted quickly, attempting to sidestep, but the projectile still struck its side and sent it stumbling away.

Tallion and her troops were about to get up and exchange shots with the surviving stormtroopers when two thermal detonators came flying up from ground level.

"Pull back!" Tallion shouted, the squad breaking cover to flee down the hall. One army trooper took a blaster bolt to the back and fell, while another was struck in the forearm but kept moving.

Daniels slide into cover alongside a few troopers as the platoon aimed their weapons down the smoky hallway, which shook slightly as the enemy grenades exploded. The lobby was now the First Order's, but this was defense in depth. Trading space for enemy blood was acceptable.

Enemy blaster fire continued for a few seconds as the stormtroopers fired on abandoned positions, but then the building quieted again, save for the crackle of the flames. Crouched behind thick cover, Shade stared at his holodisplay, still feeding him images from the probe droid hovering quietly above the lobby. Sure enough, stormtroopers had ascended both staircases and were stacking up on either side of the hall, careful not to let the Republic soldiers see so much as a finger. A trooper on the right side of the hall raised a thermal detonator, and the rest prepared to attack.

Their preparations were in vain, however, as Trooper Lon'ti hefted his plex launcher once again and fired a rocket directly at the floor behind the stormtroopers. Heat and shrapnel slammed into the first set of soldiers, maiming them and sending the unfortunately live detonator one had been about to throw flying into the formation of troopers on the stairs behind him. The Republic forces immediately opened fire on the other corner, pinning those stormtroopers.

Daniels was firing down the hallway when a door to his left suddenly burst open. In the rush to take positions, the Eighth Mobile's forces hadn't had a chance to properly scout the area, and they would pay for it now. As blaster fire emerged from this new door, Daniels dropped on his backside, narrowly avoiding the fates of two army troopers beside as they collapsed from a barrage of chest-high shots. From his new position near the ground, Daniels poured fire into the doorway, shifting his carbine to its less accurate burst fire mode. Other soldiers across the hall joined in and the breach seemed to seal, or at least be suppressed, only for another detonator to come rolling out of the doorway. Daniels scooted forwards and kicked the sphere hard, sending it spinning away into an empty office, which exploded.

A second door on the other side of the hall also burst open, with similar consequences.

"They're flanking us!" a trooper shouted. There must have been additional ways into the building, or other ways into the interior from the lobby. The defenders had had no time to find out, but the First Order clearly had.

"Back up!" Tallion shouted, firing her heavy blaster down the hall to suppress the enemy still there. Daniels scrambled to his feet, taking a quick note of the two blasted NRATs beside him. Picking the one with less severe-looking injuries, he bent down, placed his hand under the man's elbow and wrapped an arm around his torso. Firing his carbine with one hand (though not with any accuracy), he dragged the unconscious man back into cover, where another trooper picked him up and hauled him towards the rear.

Daniels dashed across the hall to link up with Dottie, who was calmly firing from behind her large energy shield.

"This is not going well!" he shouted, firing at one of the hostile doorways.

"On the contrary, Lieutenant! For an unprepared defense against a numerically superior enemy with armor support, we are performing well above expectations! Commendations to you all!" She punctuated by firing a small rocket from her wrist into an occupied doorway.

"Aren't you always the positive one, Dottie" Daniels muttered.

"I am merely realistic, Lieutenant" the droid said, her voice unnecessarily cheery. "Proper understanding of the dangers of war is essential to maintaining battlefield morale. That said, we should retreat. Now."

Daniels didn't argue.

* * *

From his point of hyperspace egress, Major Rhys Sidna, Fel Squadron, First Order Special Forces Detachment 32, had a wonderful view of the battle. Resurgents and Starhawks pummeling each other with turbolasers, frigates formed up around their carrier, fighters chasing each other like headless torchacs. It was glorious. Finally, the First Order fleet had been unleashed against a worthy opponent. Finally, they could do what they had trained their whole lives to do.

Finally, Rhys Sidna could have some fun.

"Got those K-wings on scopes" reported Fel 3. "Ready to strike, Fel Leader."

"Understood" said Sidna. "Let's scrap some banthas."

With wings split into points like two large forks, Sidna's TIE/ba Space Superiority Interceptor dove into the battle, confident in its speed, firepower and shielding. Unlike many of its model, the ship was dark black, with the only splash of color a white crescent moon painted across the cockpit. An identical image cut across the front of Sidna's helmet, a mark of individuality that signified his status in the First Order more than any rank badge could. The rest of Fel Squadron took formation around their leader, their four TIE/sf special forces variant fighters less distinctive but only slightly less deadly.

The squadron could be stealthy when they wanted to, but this was not the time. One of the Draco Squadron X-wings escorting Kappa noticed them immediately and turned to face them, an A-wing following suit.

The X-wing fired at Sidna, but his fighter tilted to the side and unleashed its four powerful laser cannons. The near-simultaneous impacts overwhelmed the X-wing's shields and the fighter shattered.

"Heavy enemy contact!" the A-wing pilot radioed, rushing through Fel Squadron's formation without scoring a solid hit. "Looks like fighter elites!"

"Copy that" said the pilot of the nearby Eskie _E-37_, another part of Kappa Squadron's escort. "Engaging."

The A-wing turned and took up position behind Fel Squadron, which had not attempted the evasive maneuvers that were standard when an enemy was at one's back. Sidna didn't need to. He didn't even give an order as the rear-facing turret gunners of Fel 3 and 5 opened fire on the surprised A-wing.

"Damn! They've got rear-" the A-wing pilot started but never finished.

_E-37_ rose to meet the interlopers, turrets firing streams of deadly lasers. This did require Fel Squadron to scatter into evasive maneuvers, but that barely slowed Sidna's ability to aim and fire two concussion missiles. _E-37_ broke off to evade them, turrets on all sides continuing to fire, but the shift briefly threw off the gunners' aim. Fel Squadron used that wiggle room to close in. The underbelly turrets of the special forces TIEs swiveled forwards and pelted _E-37_ with laser fire from several directions. Sidna's initial missiles detonated harmlessly behind the gunboat, but Fel 4 was in a perfect position to put two more into its side, easily breaching the damaged shields. The Eskie imploded.

"Excellent" Sidna radioed, allowing a rare moment of praise. The Republic pilots were in keeping with the thousands of simulations Fel Squadron had trained against. If these frontline pilots fell this easily, then nothing the Republic had could touch them.

"Fel 2, Fel 3, Fel 5, target the bombers" ordered Sidna. "Fel 4 and I will scatter any remaining fighter cover."

"Roger that, Fel Leader" replied Fel 2, lining up the first of the K-wings as the squadron barreled down on them from above.

Fel 4 was counting the distant enemy A-wings on his scanner when a new contact suddenly appeared.

"Incoming bogey, starboard!" he shouted. "Large missile!"

"That's no missile!" Fel 3 shouted, making visual contact. "That's an X-wing!"

"Impossible!" Fel 4 replied. "They don't go that fast!"

Sidna saw it on his scanners too. Snubfighter-sized, extremely fast and headed directly for his formation.

"Scatter!" he ordered. The Fels would need to break off their attack on the bombers, but the alternative was their mysterious sensor signature slamming straight into the squadron's side.

Tambralynne Kusarni gritted her teeth as she withstood far more inertial force than her ship's compensators were meant to handle.

"That's the stuff, BR-17!" she said. "Engine overheat light, eat your heart out!"

Through her expertise in "engine coaxing", Tambralynne had reached the area far ahead of the rest of Vega and Altair Squadrons. That left her two problems: she was going so fast she could barely control her craft and she was alone against an entire enemy squadron.

So, no problems at all.

Tambralynne rocketed through the middle of Fel Squadron, the TIEs breaking formation rather than risk impact with her. That bought Kappa Squadron some time, but it also left her with enough momentum to take her straight out of the engagement area. At this speed, turning around could take a minute or more.

Never a patient sort, Tambralynne cut her engine, threw her stick forward and flipped her X-wing over its nose. Stabilizing with thrusters, she was now speeding away from the battle like before but upside-down and backwards. Most pilots would find that disorienting, but Tambralynne instead focused on reactivating and maxing out her rear engine. As she was currently flying backwards, the blast from the overclocked engine quickly countered her earlier momentum and sent the X-wing roaring back into the battle. The ship's highly advanced inertial compensators groaned as they struggled to absorb the strain of such a rapid acceleration, and Tambralynne was pushed far back into her seat.

After a few seconds of this, Tambralynne's head snapped forward as the compensators got things under control. She glanced at the chronometer on her wrist. Three seconds of blackout. Pretty good for a Barsalla maneuver, which had a well-earned reputation of knocking pilots out cold, killing them outright or ripping their airframe apart. Fortunately, Tambralynne Kusarni and the T-85 X-wing were both the best in the galaxy, and now right on Fel Squadron's tail.

"What on Dathomir was that?" Fel 3 shouted.

"Don't care, bring it down!" Sidna shouted. The squadron's rear turrets opened fire, but Kusarni, S-foils still closed, was far too evasive. She fired a few shots, more to test her foes' reflexes than score a solid hit.

Sidna growled as Fel Squadron, composed of some of the First Order's most elite pilots, was slowly pushed away from their K-wing targets by _a single X-wing_.

"Keep the fire on him" he said. "I'm flipping up."

"Roger."

Sidna pulled back on his stick and his TIE shot upwards, arcing back around to face his pursuer. Sidna's lasers flared as his sensors prepared a concussion missile lock and the rest of Fel Squadron used their rear turrets to suppress the X-wing. The plan was simple: overwhelm the foe with excess stimuli. No pilot could dodge all of this.

Tambralynne Kusarni was not fazed, and jerked her ship to the left while snapping open her S-foils. Sidna fired his missiles, only to discover that they had failed to score a lock and flew harmlessly past their target. As Sidna and Tambralynne's ships came close to colliding, the Zeltron put a laser blast into Sidna's wing. He rolled and dodged her second shot, but warning lights flickered and the ship shuddered as its shields barely withstood the blow.

This pilot was proving to be a real challenge after all.

* * *

Daniels and Dottie scrambled out of the base's administrative section under a hail of blaster fire.

"That's it! We're clear!" shouted an army lieutenant. "Light 'em up!"

The two Republic T2-B tanks did not hesitate, unloading their rapid-fire blaster turrets into the doorway the retreating defenders had stumbled out of. Several stormtroopers were cut down, while the rest retreated into better cover, temporarily suppressed.

"What's the plan?" Daniels asked, approaching Tallion and several army officers.

"Top, we can't hold the base without heavy casualties" Tallion radioed. "Original garrison has been evacuated. Do we stay or go?"

Back in orbit, Commander Vahle continued to stare at the hologram depicting the space battle.

"Understood, Nova. The base is not mission-critical. Let them have it and we'll drive them out once we have space and air superiority."

"Copy, Top" Tallion said, nevertheless scowling. Running away now was just going to embolden the enemy. But that was no reason to sacrifice a platoon or more of good soldiers.

"I need a demolition team setting charges on those pillars" she ordered, pointing to several columns that held up the face of the building. "Pack up the tanks and get everyone on the Raider and in the air. Nova Team, form up on me. Let's go!"

"I thought we were retreating" Shade asked as the VJs gathered around their leader.

"We are" said Tallion. "But that doesn't mean we run with our tails between our legs. Counterstrike into the building, knock the enemy off-balance and pull out before they can respond. Buys the airlift some time and makes sure these fools remember tangling with the Eighth Mobile Fleet. Understood?"

The Galactic Marines nodded as one.

"Keriala sur, Nova" the colonel said, a toothy smile finally appearing on her face. "Let's slag some cloacae."

* * *

In the upper reaches of Tren Roq's atmosphere, Cetus and Libra Squadrons rendezvoused and fused their formations.

"Quite a mess up here" said Cetus 1.

"You have no idea" Libra 1 replied. "Now, can we blow something up?"

With Cetus's X-wings now forming an arrowhead around a core of Libra Squadron B-wings, the combined squadrons stabbed upwards in mixed formation at the soft underbelly of Asardus's undamaged flagship _Requiem_.

"Sir, additional Republic fighters coming from the planet" one of Requiem's bridge crew reported. "Appears to be an escorted bomber group."

Admiral Asardus rubbed her brow. Between the attack wing that had been chased off of the _Fortitude_, the TIEs defending the battered _Reclaimer_ and Fel Squadron's wild goose chase, her squadrons were spread thin and weakening.

"The bomber group is approaching _Requiem_ from below."

Asardus sighed. "Best case scenario. Angle the ship to maximize anti-fighter coverage. Hold fire until they get close. Draw them in, and then erase them."

"Yes, admiral."

* * *

"I could use some help here!" Fel 3 called out. The TIE/sfs of Fel Squadron had scattered once again as Tambralynne bore down on them, and Fel 3 was the unlucky one to have kept her attention.

"I'm on it!" Sidna shouted, frustration clear in his voice as he swooped back into the battle, Fels 4 and 5 forming up on his wings. They were behind their foe now, which in theory made this a piece of cake. But theory had been taking a beating in the last few minutes.

"2, 3, take the bombers" Sidna ordered, careful not to lose sight of the mission. "4 and 5, box 'em in and let's scrap that ace!"

Fel 4 and Fel 5 banked right and began to sandwich Tambralynne between their fields of fire. Sidna angled his Interceptor to line up behind her. Unable to dodge left or right without exposing herself to his wingmen's fire, the target would have little defense against Sidna's final blow.

Textbook.

That was his mistake. Tambralynne Kusarni had spent her life reading and breaking every flight textbook in the galaxy.

Tambralynne rolled, closed her S-foils and dove towards the Star Destroyer. Sidna, 4 and 5 followed but the angle of the turn opened up a gap in their fields of fire. Tambralynne banked left, slamming herself into the side of her cockpit as her X-wing's reduced profile slid between the laser blasts. With a grunt of frustration, Sidna followed, his greater turn radius giving Tambralynne critical distance.

"Incoming!" shouted Fel 3's gunner, firing at her. Tambralynne swerved, switching her S-foils to attack position and unloading at the two TIEs approaching the bombers. Fel 2 and 3 banked away, a laser bolt striking 3's wing and nearly breaching its shields.

Now unmolested, the K-wings unleashed a barrage of missiles against the side of the _Reclaimer_. With the ship's shields crumbling from Starhawk fire, the projectiles penetrated easily, tearing a large chunk of battlecruiser's midsection. Not a lethal blow, but a second run in the same spot would likely inflict a fatal core breach.

"Good hit, Kappa!" Tambralynne radioed.

"Thanks for the cover, Vega 1" Kappa 7 replied.

"Fel 3, status?" demanded Sidna.

"Wing's singed, but I'm good to fly" 3 replied.

"Roger" said Sidna. "Let's finish this nerfherder."

That was going to prove easier said than done, not the least of which because the rest of Vega Squadron and half of Altair had finally arrived on Fel Squadron's flank.

"Hey, guys! You made it!" Tambralynne radioed.

"I'm surprised you left us a piece of the action" Vega 5 replied.

"Blast" Sidna muttered. "Fel Squadron, we're being flanked. Reposition."

"What about the ace?"

"I'll handle it" Sidna growled. "Shred those reinforcements."

"Understood" said Fel 2, banking towards Vega Squadron.

But then the battlefield went dark, and everything changed.

* * *

Inside the remains of Base Bos-Sigma-Six, the stormtroopers of the First Order's 43rd Legion checked their weapons and their wounded. The fighting had destroyed most of the building's lighting, leaving it dark save for fragments of daylight from shattered windows and the eerie glow of scattered flames. A few rooms ahead, the thumping of blaster fire from the Republic T2-Bs seemed almost soothing.

From the shattered lobby, a new platoon of reinforcements arrived.

"Good to see you, 547" said a sergeant from the original attacking force.

"What happened here?" asked Captain EI-3547, a red pauldron proudly on his shoulder. "Why has the advance stopped?"

"Resistance was heavier than we expected" said the sergeant. "Needed a minute to regroup and prepare to breach their lines."

"Your minute is up" said the captain. "Move in."

"You heard him!" the sergeant shouted, doing her best to keep her bruised lung from affecting her voice. "Troopers! Move up!"

"Ooh-rah!" the stormtroopers cheered, standing up and moving towards the courtyard, thermal detonators and plex missiles prepared to counter the T2-Bs.

EI-3547 smiled under his helmet. His troops' enthusiasm for war made him proud. How could the Republic, how could _anyone_ stand up against such-

A cylindrical object flew into the room from a side door. 3547 tried to shout, but before he could, the flash grenade exploded in a burst of light, sound, and radio waves designed to scramble helmets and comm systems.

The room erupted into blaster fire as a series of figures burst into the room, slamming into the platoon's flank and firing into the backs of the stormtroopers advancing on the courtyard.

Something exploded. 3547 fired his blaster, despite being almost blind. A yellow shape rushed towards him. With a shout of "Captain!" the sergeant tried to place herself between the attackers and 3547, only to take a blaster bolt and fall. 3547 fired at the yellow shape, but it did no damage as the thing slammed into him.

3547 tumbled to the ground, his blaster slipping out of his hand. He tried to draw his sidearm, but something clamped onto his arm. The fallen captain looked up at a tall, black, skeletal figure with glowing red eyes. Then Dottie hit him with a stun bolt, followed by a second one to be certain.

"Dottie, what are you doing?" Tallion growled, firing her heavy blaster into the crowd of stormtroopers. Daniels slid beside the downed captain and slipped his hands into binders.

"Executing a lawful arrest, Colonel."

"This is a war, DT-3!" the Trandoshan shouted.

"I am aware, Colonel. I am capturing this enemy officer for interrogation."

Tallion glared at Daniels, suspecting that he was behind this.

"If we don't know our enemy, we should learn about them, right?" he said.

"Just get him out of here" Tallion said. "Nova! Back it up!"

Daniels threw EI-3547 onto his shoulder and ran back through the door Nova Team had used, the rest of the team firing wildly. With their element of surprise wearing off, it was vital that they keep the enemy from organizing and surrounding them.

Two stormtroopers in heavy white armor appeared from the lobby area. Each one held large, distinctive weapons.

"Flametroopers!" Noarh shouted.

The stormtroopers raised their weapons and the remaining VJs bolted through the door. Fire erupted from the troopers' weapons, filling the door and the room beyond it.

"Holy nerfs!" Henli shouted as the Galactic Marines stumbled back out into the courtyard, a few mildly singed but none substantially wounded.

"On the shuttle, now!" Tallion ordered. The _Vrogas Vas_ had already lifted off, the T2-Bs were reattached to their U-wing carriers, and a single _Omicron_-class shuttle awaited the team in the courtyard as hovering U-wings and Eskies fired into the building.

As usual, Tallion was last on the shuttle, putting a last few blaster bolts into the doorway to discourage pursuit.

Above them, an AT-ST appeared, having somehow climbed onto the building's roof. It unleashed a barrage of fire on the rising shuttle, damaging its shields but not its hull. With a rumble, the detonators on the building exploded, collapsing that side of the structure, knocking the AT-ST down and probably burying some of the First Order attack force still inside. It certainly was going to keep them out of the courtyard for the next few minutes.

Daniels strapped himself into a seat as the shuttle pointed almost straight up, securing the unconscious, bound stormtrooper captain, and searching him to ensure that he had no hidden weapons or other tricks.

"Let's hope this guy can explain what these lunatics are up to" Henli said.

Shade was about to respond when he noticed a shadow come over the shuttle's window. The specialist looked outside.

"Uh… guys? What the hell is that?"

* * *

Far above the battle, space bent and distorted as a massive shape popped into existence, instantly casting a shadow upon both fleets. It loomed over Tren Roq like a massive bird of prey, wings 60 kilometers from tip to tip. What had previously seemed an epic battle now appeared to be the insignificant squabbling of children next to the new arrival's bulk.

On the bridge of _Requiem_, a hologram appeared, unprompted and unannounced, showing a scarred, bald man reclining in a chair.

"Admiral Asardus" he said, his voice deep and raspy. "I hear you are having some… difficulties pressing forward."

"Not at all, Supreme Leader" replied Asardus without skipping a beat. "We were in the process of polishing off these Republic stragglers when you arrived."

Supreme Leader Snoke chuckled, a sound that was not pleasant on the ears. "Your confidence is to be commended, Admiral, though I am not yet certain of your competence. I must leave immediately to inspect Project Sinkhole. Until I return, the _Supremacy_ is at your disposal."

His hologram form leaned closer, his brow nearly touching Asardus's.

"Impress me."

* * *

"Carr…" Vahle said, his voice uncharacteristically fearful.

"I see it, Commander" Admiral Carr replied. "Fighters, form up around the fleet!"

"We can't take that thing, Admiral" Vahle said. "Not with what we have."

"I understand that, Commander" Carr snapped. "We're retreating. But we've got to hold out until our hyperspace-incapable craft are back on board. Not to mention your ground forces."

A barrage of massive turbolaser blasts began to arc down from the dreadnought above, suggesting that that would be easier said than done.

* * *

Libra Squadron had been on a solid approach to attack _Requiem_ when the dreadnought arrived.

"Top, this is Libra" Libra 1 reported. "We're in position to attack the battlecruiser. Do we commit or pull out?"

"This battle's done, Libra" Vahle said, studying his holographic display for a way to extract his fleet from the situation. "Get to a safe distance and hyperspace to rendezvous coordinates. Cetus, meet up with the shuttles coming from the surface, make sure they get home safe."

"Understood, Top."

The squadrons had just broken off their approach when the bottom of _Requiem_ lit up with the flashes of a dozen anti-fighter concussion missiles launching.

"Woah" said Libra 3 as the squadron raced away, outpacing the missiles. "That's a lot of AA."

"Yeah" Cetus 2 replied. "I'd hate to be someone doing a bombing run on that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" Libra 1 muttered as he confirmed Admiral Carr's encoded transmission of hyperspace coordinates. Somehow, he got the feeling his squadron was going to have to learn how to do exactly that.

* * *

Nova Team had only been in the air a minute when their shuttle shook. Daniels tore his eyes away from the massive dreadnought visible in orbit and stared towards the planet's surface. A shower of laser fire was pouring up from the ground from AT-ATs and AT-AAs on the base's tarmac.

It was merely another minute before the convoy had gained enough altitude to escape the ground fire, but the threat was not entirely gone.

"Top, we have a problem" reported the captain of the Raider corvette _Vrogas Vas_. One of the ship's engines was venting smoke from an AT-AT shot.

"We have a lot of problems" Vahle snapped. "Do you need support?"

The corvette shuddered and tilted, the helmsman struggling to correct its course.

"I don't know if we're going to make orbit" the Raider captain replied.

* * *

"Vega Squadron, get those K-wings back to the carrier and then get out of here" Tambralynne ordered. "I'll cover the retreat."

"Understood, Vega 1" Vega 2 replied. "Give 'em hell."

"Don't let them escape!" Major Sidna ordered. "Tear these cowards apar-"

Tambralynne's X-wing flew into the middle of Fel Squadron, firing wildly.

"Son of a…" Sidna growled. "I'll take that ace, slag the rest!"

"Easier said than done, Lead!" Fel 2 shouted.

Tambralynne grinned to herself. Time for a good ol' knife fight.

BR-17 let out a worried beep.

"What do you mean the engine is _actually_ overheating?" Tambralynne asked. The X-wing shuddered as its main booster shut down.

"For the love of…" Tambralynne muttered as Fel Squadron swooped past her, her sudden drop in speed throwing off their attempt to attack. "Vent all available coolant and redirect life support power to the system reboot." The Zeltron began pushing buttons around her cockpit, raising the S-foils to their widest setting and activating the rear maneuvering thrusters to give her the slightest boost forward, though it was far weaker than even a low power setting on the regular booster. This did little to halt BR-17's stream of angry beeps.

"I know, I know" said Tambralynne, sounding like a teenager being scolded by her mother. "I'm gonna drop us like a rock now, okay?"

Just as the droid made a loud beep that could not be interpreted as anything but a strong "No!", Tambralynne pushed another button and the X-wing tipped towards Tren Roq, firmly in the planet's gravitational pull. A shower of laser fire and two more concussion missiles overshot her as Fel Squadron's attack run was foiled again.

"This pilot's either a genius or a maniac!" Fel 5 reported.

"I don't care which it is as long as they're a dead one!' Sidna replied.

* * *

Despite the rain of heavy turbolasers bearing down on it from the _Supremacy_, the Republic fleet was mostly retreating in good order. Anything with a hyperdrive was exiting under its own power, so the fact that the carrier _Fortitude_ had half of its hanger sealed was not a huge deal. Kappa Squadron, the most in need of carrier support, landed without incident.

There were two ships in a lot of trouble, though. The first was the Starhawk _Borhala_, which, as the ship at the front of the formation, had received beatings from both _Reclaimer_ and _Requiem_ in addition to the brunt of _Supremacy_'s fire. The Starhawk's legendary shields and thin profile had allowed it to weather the assault better than most ships, but flames were billowing from several different places.

The other problem was the Raider-class corvette _Vrogas Vas_, fleeing the surface of Tren Roq, which found its entire left engine block not only venting smoke but entirely non-functional.

"_Borhala_, what is your status?" Admiral Carr demanded.

"We're definitely beat up, but we'll make it" the ship's captain reported. "Get everything else out."

"_Vrogas Vas_, can you make orbit or not?" Vahle asked.

"Not looking like it, Commander" the corvette captain replied.

"Land on the planet, take what supplies you can and hide in the jungle" Carr ordered. "We'll return with reinforcements to recover you as soon as possible."

"Negative" said Vahle. "I've got a Marauder moving in for pick up. _Insight_, cover them."

The Eighth Mobile's sole functioning Marauder corvette emerged from the maw of the _Alderaan Spirit_, its crew simultaneously happy to have something to do and deeply regretting their life choices.

_Vrogas Vas_ shuddered as Tren Roq's gravity took hold of it, slowly pulling it from its original vertical course into a level flight that would no doubt end in a dive back to the surface. The other shuttles and U-wings of the convoy had separated to avoid its erratic flight patterns and were making their own escape, leaving _Vrogas Vas_ alone save for a few X-wings from Cetus Squadron and the Eskie _E-41_.

"TIEs, inbound" Cetus 9 reported.

Of course they were.

* * *

Tambralynne steered her X-wing into the pillar of smoke floating off of the hole Kappa Squadron had left in the _Reclaimer_. Fel Squadron followed, blindly firing at her.

"Fel Squadron, what are you doing?" Admiral Asardus demanded. "You're firing on our own ship!"

"Taking out an X-wing, ma'am" Sidna grunted, trying to get a missile lock.

"_An_ X-wing?" Asardus shouted. "The Republic bombers are escaping, and your entire squadron is chasing a single X-wing!?"

"This is harder than it looks" Sidna replied as Tambralynne's engine restarted and she rocketed out of the smoke cloud before closing her S-foils, swinging around and diving into a large gap that separated the upper and lower sections of the Star Destroyer's prow.

The Fels tried to pursue, but all but Sidna waved off upon seeing the tight confines they would have to fly through.

"Persistent, isn't he?" Tambralynne said to BR-17 as she danced around metal girders, firing her laser cannons at random and even putting a pair of unguided proton torpedoes into an important-looking bit of superstructure. She slid out into open space as part of the prow collapsed, forcing Sidna to veer away and find another way out.

Tambralynne guessed that the rest of Vega Squadron was far enough away and began a dash away from the battle to reach a safe hyperspace point, away from the planet's gravity and the First Order.

The Order wasn't quite done with her yet, though. Fel 4 had not attempted to pursue her through the Star Destroyer but instead remained above it, putting him in perfect position to strike from behind.

"Rear shields to max, -17" Tambralynne said as she noticed her tail. "Deactivate the propulsion on torpedo 4 and set it to proximity detonation."

The droid beeped in what sounded more like exasperation than anything else.

"Target remaining on a straight course" Fel 4 reported. "Gunner, lock on all available weapons."

Fel 4 was now directly behind the X-wing, which had given up evasive maneuvers in favor of the fastest route out of the battle. That was looking to be a mistake. Fel 4 fired two laser blasts, one of which bounced off Tambralynne's rear shields. Those were just rangefinding rounds though, and his TIE's targeting computer quickly calculated in the results and centered the X-wing's engine block in its sights. The turret's computer reported similar results, and the mag-pulse missiles had a lock as well.

Tambralynne looked behind her, did some quick math in her head, and fired a proton torpedo.

"I have you now" both pilots said at the exact same time.

Fel 4 fired as Tambralynne yanked her stick back, cut power to the engines and opened her S-foils. The result of these maneuvers was the X-wing hurtling backwards relative to the TIE, one of the laser bolts skimming its rear shield and singeing the metal.

Tambralynne's X-wing wobbled uncontrollably, forcing Fel 4 to steer out of the way to avoid a collision. The TIE zoomed past her.

"Gunner!" Fel 4 shouted. His gunner whirled the TIE's turret around to blast the now-vulnerable X-wing.

And then Fel 4 slammed into Tambralynne's fired, unguided, propulsionless proton torpedo.

Such torpedoes were built to penetrate armored, shielded capital ships using a shaped explosion to tear straight through even powerful defenses.

Needless to say, the TIE/sf's shields were woefully inadequate. The explosion was impressive, though.

"Alright, let's skedaddle!" Tambralynne said, regaining control of her fighter and preparing to jump to hyperspace.

"Fel 4 is down" Fel 2 reported as Tambralynne disappeared into the void between the stars. "No sign of ejection. Enemy ace has fled."

Rhys Sidna punched his windscreen before sighing and turning towards the rest of the battle.

"Let's see what Republic scraps are left."

* * *

"This is going a lot better than I was expecting!" shouted _E-41_'s dorsal gunner.

"Easy for you to say," replied the port gunner. "They all like my side!"

No one was entirely sure where the TIEs had come from (probably remnants of Asardus's original assault force), but they had definitely noticed the crippled _Vrogas Vas_, and smelled blood in the water.

"Come on, you!" Cetus 5 shouted, running off another TIE, only for it to turn around and try again. There couldn't have been more than five TIEs left in this area, but they were a dangerous combination of cautious and persistent.

_Vrogas Vas_ shook again as a portion of its electrical system failed.

"We are definitely going down now" the Raider's captain reported.

"Marauder in position!" a friendly voice shouted. The Marauder corvette appeared over the stricken ship, carefully adjusting its speed. "Tractor beam initiated."

In theory, this maneuver was simple – get to the _Vrogas Vas_, snag it with a tractor beam, drag it back to _Alderaan Spirit_. But few simple things were easy when under fire.

"_Supremacy_, the Republic's rear echelon is escaping" Admiral Asardus said. "Place a few shots in that area, would you?"

There was an acknowledgement, and several new massive turbolaser blasts began arcing towards the rear of the Republic formation.

"Move _Requiem_ up" Asardus ordered her helmsman. "It is time to end this."

"Incoming!" shouted Cetus 4.

The shots, as large as they were, were not likely to hit any of the X-wings, or even the Raider-Marauder duo. But the _Alderaan Spirit_, itself approaching the Raider, was another matter.

"Carr, we need coverage on our carrier" Vahle said, as Carr's own carrier, _Fortitude_, limped into hyperspace.

"Understood. _Wisdom_, shield them as best you can."

The large MC90 cruiser tilted and shifted, placing itself between the First Order and the Eighth Mobile. One of the Supremacy's massive cannon shots struck it, then another. A barrage of conventional fire from _Requiem_ followed.

"Come on… come on…" muttered the pilot of the Marauder corvette as it slowly dragged _Vrogas Vas_ into the mostly-empty hanger of the _Alderaan Spirit_, which was already turning to prepare for hyperspace.

At the last second, a solitary TIE came out of nowhere, bracketing the back of the Marauder with laser fire. An electrical surge rippled through the corvette, overloading its tractor beam and dropping the _Vrogas Vas_. The Raider corvette slammed into the hanger floor and rolled in a way that starships were definitely not supposed to roll before coming to a stop. The Marauder cut power and half-landed, half crashed into the hanger as well.

"Ship's onboard, let's go!" shouted Chief Dorath.

Neither Vahle nor Carr felt like arguing. As another rain of heavy turbolasers came crashing down, the remaining Republic ships stretched and shot into hyperspace. In just a few seconds, the orbit of Tren Roq was quiet save for tumbling debris and burning fuel.

* * *

"The Republic forces have escaped" a lieutenant reported.

"I noticed" Asardus said, her voice icy.

"_Supremacy_ reports that they still have it on scanners" said someone else. "Hyperspace tracking is functioning properly."

"Very well," said the Admiral. "Recover our fighters, ensure _Reclaimer_'s damage is under control and prepare to move out in pursuit."

The admiral starred into the void of stars. Commander Vahle had proven himself quite clever. But cleverness would not be enough against the First Order's technological might.

"After all," she said to herself, "this war has only just begun."


	5. Interlude - New Republic Fleet Doctrine

New Republic Fleet Doctrine:

Despite the famous 90% post-war fleet reduction of the 7 ABY Demilitarization Act, the New Republic maintains a small but robust space fleet. Anchored by the cutting-edge Starhawk battleship, the venerable Mon Calamari Cruiser line (including Rebellion-era models like the MC75 and 80, as well as post-war models like the MC85 and 90) and the newer _Endurance_-class fleet carrier, the Republic's four Main Fleets are powerful units built to face the Imperial Star Destroyer fleets of old head-on through a combination of raw firepower, strong shields and advanced heavy bombers like the A/SF-02 B-wing and the rarer K-wing. To avoid the appearance of Empire-like occupation, the Main Fleets generally remain at their primary bases – Nexus Ortai, Sluis Van, Ithor and Hosnian Prime. In particular, the massive First Main Fleet (generally referred to as "Home Fleet") contains almost 60% of the Republic's heavy naval assets and is on constant guard at the Republic's capital (currently Hosnian Prime).

In order to project power away from those bases, the New Republic uses small forces of starfighters and corvettes to patrol trade routes and assist travelers, based out of small space stations scattered around the galaxy. For more difficult challenges (such as organized pirate fleets), the Republic calls upon its eight Mobile Fleets. Though much smaller than a Main Fleet and often consisting of just a few cruisers and a light carrier, the Mobile Fleets are equipped to handle most commonly encountered threats. A significant advantage of the Mobile Fleets is their ability to work alongside the Planetary Defense Fleets run by local governments. PDFs usually request assistance from a Mobile Fleet to deal with a specific problem and provide ships and local knowledge to the resulting joint fleet. As a result, Mobile Fleets are designed to possess equipment and capabilities that PDFs generally lack. Interdictor cruisers, elite starfighter pilots, advanced sensor packages, B-wing fighter-bombers and specialized troops trained in boarding hostile starships are common features of Mobile Fleets.

Though in recent years partisan gridlock has reduced the Senate's ability to order its forces to tackle specific problems, the Mobile Fleets are relatively autonomous, with a request from an allied PDF merely requiring the approval of Republic High Command, not the Senate itself. This has kept the Mobile Fleets busy with anti-pirate raids, hostage rescue and fugitive capture missions, and made their soldiers among the most experienced (if under-appreciated) in the galaxy.


	6. Flight - Part 1

Episode 2: Flight

"The greatest generals are revealed in defeat."

* * *

Fleet Commander Marius Vahle, New Republic Eighth Mobile Fleet, sat in characteristic silence with an uncharacteristic hand on his brow. He stared straight ahead at a spot on the floor of his bridge, ignoring his holodisplay, the bridge crew, the blue-and-white glow of hyperspace, even the ever-faithful Major Elini Chur sitting right beside him.

This was a serious problem.

Tren Roq was not the first battle Vahle had lost, but it was the first one where the enemy had had such an overwhelming advantage. The battlecruisers had been dangerous, yes, but they were manageable. The anti-Star Destroyer techniques drilled into all officers and pilots in training still seemed effective, and Carr's Starhawks had proven capable of matching them in combat.

The problem was that dreadnought.

Initial scans put it at 60 kilometers wide – more than three times the length of an _Executor_-class Super Star Destroyer, the Empire's biggest war machine besides the Death Stars. Only the galaxy's largest, often centuries-old space stations like the ring shipyards of Kuat could compare. _Where did they build that thing?_ he wondered. He felt no need to ask why they would do it.

"Major," Vahle said, speaking for the first time in twenty minutes.

"Yes, Commander?" said Chur, uncharacteristically startled. But this was an uncharacteristic day.

"Order your team in Ops to begin analyzing all the data we collected about that dreadnought. Assemble a report on possible weaknesses."

"Of course, sir" Chur replied. "Planning on bringing it down?"

"Someone has to" Vahle replied. A loud "whoop!" from across the bridge almost made him jump.

"That's the Vahle I know!" one of the Gunnery officers shouted. Several other bridge crew laughed.

"What are the odds that it has a thermal exhaust port we can shoot?" yelled someone from Comms.

"Shove enough proton torpedoes down anything's throat and it'll break, exhaust port or not!" the Gunnery officer replied.

"Or just throw five hundred StarFortresses at it" someone else suggested.

"Nah, they might have a TIE fighter defending it" a Sensors officer replied. "Or worse, two!"

Vahle almost allowed himself a small smile, less at the jokes themselves and more at the fact that his crew seemed to be holding themselves together well enough, given the circumstances. The fact was that there was only way the Republic was likely to defeat such a monstrosity: Home Fleet, as fully committed as possible and with as much PDF support as possible, striking from multiple angles with Starhawks and MC90s and 85s to wear down the shields while swarming it with every K-, B-, Y- and X-wing they could muster. It wasn't an impossibility. The Maracavanya War had proven that the modern Republic navy could defeat Star Dreadnoughts when necessary. But to do any of that, he'd need to regain contact with Hosnian Prime, and hope against all hope that the Senate saw this obvious danger for what it was.

The blue swirls outside of his window began to shift and slow as the _Zama_ returned to realspace.

For now, he'd better see what state his fleet was in.

* * *

_Zama_ emerged from hyperspace to find the situation both better and worse than Vahle had feared. On the one hand, every major ship of both fleets seemed to have made it, though the Starhawk _Borhala_ and fleet carrier _Fortitude_ were both venting quite a lot of smoke. On the other hand, an absolutely chaotic muddle of fighters, bombers and shuttles were floating around the capital ships, seemingly unsure where to go.

"Flight Ops, get that mess under control" Vahle ordered. "Comms, connect me to our captains."

"Interdictor _Certainty_ is intact and fully functional" Captain Milap Grel reported. "We're trying to clear hanger space to take on some of the extra fighters."

Good, but expected. _Certainty_ had been held back for the entire battle, as interdictors were expensive utility – not combat – craft.

"Cruiser _Insight_ has sustained minor damage. Ship is functioning at 90% efficiency" the MC40c's captain reported.

Also good. Though _Insight_ was badly outclassed by the First Order's battlecruisers, it possessed the majority of the Eighth Mobile's guns, and the fleet was likely to need every one of them in the days to come.

"We are unharmed, but concerned" said Captain Tellea, the more senior captain of the two Tibrinese Defense Fleet cruisers that had been attached to Eighth Mobile for the operation against Loc Bei. "We were prepared to face pirates and kidnappers. It seems you have stumbled into something else entirely."

"We appreciate your patience" Vahle replied. "Obviously this situation is concerning. The Republic needs to gather its strength in order to respond to this aggression. You and your crew are much safer here with us than wandering off along with an Imperialist dreadnought on a rampage."

"If you say so" Captain Tellea said, clicking his beak.

"Vega Squadron is intact" Tambralynne Kusarni reported. Her droid, BR-17 beeped angrily as her X-wing shuddered slightly, a consequence of all of the abuse Tambralynne had put it through.

"Altair Squadron lost one" Altair 1 reported.

"Libra Squadron intact."

"Cetus Squadron down two. Plus Cetus 8 took a hit and docked early."

Vahle didn't smile, but he was glad to see his squadrons mostly intact. His pilots, his fleet, had gone up against a powerful enemy without warning and come out effectively on top. If he allowed himself to feel such things in such circumstances, he would be proud of them.

For now, though, with those reports out of the way, Vahle could focus on the bigger problem.

"It's a real mess down here" Chief Dorath on the light carrier _Alderaan Spirit_ explained. "Hanger's stuffed to the brim as it is with Loc Bei's ship and both of our Marauders damaged, but _Vrogas Vas_ took a big tumble as it came in. Smashed it and part of the hanger up pretty good. We've moved the casualties to sick bay but I'm not going to be able to hold all my squadrons."

"Hanger space seems to be at a premium" Chur remarked. "Fourth Main reports that half of _Fortitude_'s hanger is out as well, and _Borhala_ is in no shape for carrier duty."

"I suppose it is better than the alternative" Vahle replied. "We could be facing more hanger space than fighters."

A new hologram appeared at Vahle's station. Vice Admiral Aras Carr did not look pleased.

"Commander Vahle, our attempts to contact either Hosnian Prime or Sluis Van have failed once again. It 6appears that the communications blackout is still in effect."

"First Order obviously want to keep the Republic unable to respond for as long as possible" said Vahle.

"I agree. What purpose they had in seizing Tren Roq remains unclear, but it was without a doubt premeditated. Meticulously so."

"Do we head for Sluis Van?" Vahle asked.

"Possibly" Carr replied. "The ships I sent back to investigate after the communications blackout began have not reported in. For fear of walking into another trap, it may be best to head towards Hosnia and warn Home Fleet ourselves."

"That would put us pretty far away from this sector. Leaves the First Order able to do whatever it wants in this area until we get back. Which could be days, depending on how look it takes Home Fleet moving. Let alone the Senate."

"We may not have much of a choice, Commander. Our current forces in this area are no match for that ship. A battle against it without major reinforcements would be-"

"Sir! Ship exiting hyperspace!" a Sensors officer shouted. "Signature is First Order battlecruiser!"

There was a slight shift in the light levels on the ships visible from the bridge's viewport, as if something had just dimmed the nearest star.

"…And the other one" the officer finished.

Admiral Carr swore.

"Battle stations!"

* * *

Admiral Dido Asardus stood proud on the bridge of her Star Destroyer, _Requiem_. The Supreme Leader's flagship was proving more capable than she could have dreamed of. If a single ship could embody all of the First Order's knowledge and power, even more than Starkiller Base, it was _Supremacy_.

"Prioritize the heaviest ships" she ordered. "The backbone of the Republic Navy dies today."

Volleys of massive green turbolaser blasts began to rain down on the unprepared fleet.

"Major Sidna. If you would like to actually contribute instead of chasing your own tail, now would be the time. Disable the engines of the Republic capital ships. Keep them in front of our guns."

Rhys Sidna growled but said nothing as Fel Squadron raced towards Carr's fleet. His squadron was the best of the best, and Asardus wanted them _wasted_ playing sheepdog for her new toy.

"Fel Squadron, you know what you're looking for" the major ordered. "Find me that ace."

"Understood, Lead" replied Fel 2.

Like hell he was going to let someone kill one of _his_ squad only to die from naval bombardment. Sidna's vengeance would be won through dogfight. His honor as a pilot depended on it.

* * *

"They followed us through hyperspace!" Chur shouted, stumbling as _Zama_ lurched to the side, angling for a hyperspace vector. A loud alarm was blaring in the background. "How is that possible?"

"The answer is 'I don't care, prepare jump coordinates!'" Vahle replied. If they weren't going to beat this thing before, when it had appeared near their deployed bomber squadrons, they certainly weren't going to beat it now.

The fleet's fighters had been clustered around the larger ships as they tried to sort out landing accommodations, and they quickly scattered to avoid blocking the escape routes. Some did not move fast enough, however. One massive turbolaser blast smashed through three of Draco Squadron's X-wings before slamming into _Borhala_.

Carr's navigator had picked the first possible escape coordinates, so the wait to get into hyperspace was not great. But it might still prove to be too long.

"Heads up. TIEs coming in" Draco 6 reported.

"What the heck are they doing?" Altair 4 asked. "They're charging into their own ship's fire!"

"They want a fight, we'll give 'em a fight!" Tambralynne shouted, revving her engine. "Take them out!"

* * *

Fel Squadron swooped down onto the Starhawk _Borhala_, firing lasers into the sides of a ship that really didn't need any more laser fire. A Draco Squadron X-wing rose to meet them, but the Fels dodged with perfectly coordinated barrel rolls and dashed away, targeting the other Starhawk, _Ortanic_. They were only interested in one specific X-wing. Anything else was merely a distraction.

The distraction ended soon enough, the distinctive pink fuselage and dark blue wings of Tambralynne Kusarni's fighter appeared from behind the MC90 _Wisdom_, flanked by two of Altair Squadron's A-wings.

"Eyes on, boss" Fel 3 reported.

"Perfect" Sidna snarled. "Slag 'em."

Fel Squadron diverted away from _Ortanic_ and charged Tambralynne, firing a barrage of lasers from both their main guns and the turrets of the TIE/sfs. Tambralynne rolled and shot through the formation unscathed, but her A-wing escorts found themselves scattered.

Admiral Asardus noticed her Special Forces squadron's sudden course change on the hologram in front of her.

"What does he think he's doing?" she said, more to herself than her actual crew. "The Starhawk is right there!"

Tambralynne grunted as she turned around, her X-wing creaking with strain. The fighter, while top-of-the-line, was not really built to fight three battles in a row, taking multiple hits, executing a Barsalla maneuver and suffering an engine overheat, and even Tambralynne was starting to get concerned that its performance was going to drop just as she needed a way to crack a well-trained and professional enemy squadron.

Her radio buzzed. An incoming message, not from any Republic channel.

BR-17 beeped angrily.

"Answer the damn call, -17" Tambralynne snapped, trying and failing to get close to Fel Squadron without exposing herself to too much fire from the turrets.

"Who is this?" the Zeltron asked into her radio.

"Republic pilot, this is Major Rhys Sidna of Fel Squadron, First Order Special Forces Detachment 32."

"Ooh… so formal" Tambralynne teased. "You can just call me Kusarni."

Sidna briefly hesitated, surprised by the sing-song voice apparently from the Republic ace, but he quickly recovered.

"You killed one of my squad" Sidna said.

"Did I?" Tambralynne shot back. "It's so hard to tell when you all look exactly the same."

Sidna growled, but decided to shorten his remarks to focus on the important part.

"We will kill you" he said. "We will hunt you to the edge of the galaxy if we have to."

"Neat" Tambralynne muttered, banking hard and linking up with her A-wing buddies. Behind them, _Wisdom_ stretched and vanished into hyperspace.

"Sidna, what the HELL are you doing!?" Asardus shouted. "The Republic ships are getting away!"

_Certainty_, _Alderaan Spirit_, _Fortitude_, the Tibrinese cruisers and _Insight_ vanished as well.

"All fighters, leave now or forever be in pieces!" Vahle ordered as _Zama_ jumped.

BR-17 beeped.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm following it!" Tambralynne muttered. "I DO follow orders. Sometimes."

That might prove to be easier said than done, however. Most of the surviving Republic fighters were already jumping. The trick for Tambralynne would be doing so without leaving herself exposed to Sidna's attacks.

Only two Republic capital ships remained: the Starhawks _Borhala_ and _Ortanic_. _Borhala_ was struggling mightily, while Carr's flagship did its best to cover it.

_Borhala_ stretched, and for half a second it seemed to go into hyperspace as it was supposed to. But then it snapped back and exploded, the damaged reactor overloading and disintegrating the ship, sending white-hot debris shooting in all directions at extremely high velocity.

Admiral Carr's first instinct was to attempt a recovery mission, to search for survivors. She quickly quashed that instinct and ordered _Ortanic_ to jump. Another crime the First Order would have to pay for.

Sidna was preparing to box Tambralynne in when the explosion's outburst of radiation hit his sensors, overloading them and rendering the craft temporarily blind. Tambralynne noticed this as well, and figured it was as good a time as any to make her getaway.

When Sidna could see again, the Republic fleet was gone.

* * *

"Starhawk kill confirmed, sir" a lieutenant reported. "No escape pods detected."

"Excellent" Asardus said, deciding not to mention that Fel Squadron might have just cost them a second kill. "Prepare to jump in pursuit."

Though the battle at Tren Roq had briefly gotten out of control, overall the day was going quite well for the admiral, not to mention the First Order as a whole. From what she had heard, the Republic was collapsing as expected.

There was one little hitch, though.

"Fel Squadron, please explain to me what you were doing" she demanded.

"Disabling enemy capital ships" Sidna replied. "In the process we came under fire from Republic fighters and attempted to defend ourselves while accomplishing the objective."

"Is that so?" Asardus asked. "It looked to me like you were targeting fighters first and following your orders second."

"With respect, Admiral, a fast-moving fighter battle can be difficult to interpret from the outside, especially by a non-pilot."

Asardus considered herself to be rather patient, but she had had enough.

"Major Sidna, you will follow and disable those ships, and allow yourself no further distractions, or I will have you stripped naked and thrown out an airlock!"

Sidna scoffed. "Whatever you say, ma'am."

Asardus rolled her eyes. You let a pilot have a name and a splash of paint on their helmet, and suddenly they thought that the chain of command did not apply to them.

"Ensign, place a copy of all of my communications with Fel Squadron in my personal logs" she instructed. It was always nice to be prepared in case of a court-martial.

* * *

"Commander Vahle?" a hologram of Admiral Carr asked as it flickered into view before him.

"Still here" Vahle responded, his voice once again emotionless, but slightly fatigued. "Did everybody make it?"

Carr looked down. "I don't have a full count yet, but _Borhala_ is gone."

The two were silent for a minute. One of the Republic's signature ships, a Starhawk, the ISD-killer that won the Battle of Jakku, had been torn apart in what amounted to a few minutes of open combat.

"It would seem that our enemy has some form of hyperspace tracking technology" Carr said, changing the subject. "Perhaps a transmitter tag, but hopefully a mere predictive algorithm. This jump ends in five minutes. When it does, all units are to immediately execute a second jump to the following coordinates, with no delay."

"So many jumps back to back will put a lot of strain on our fighters' engines" Vahle said.

"I understand that," said Carr. "At the end of our second jump, we must recover what remains of our fighter wings and let our hyperdrives cool. Then it is straight to Hosnian Prime, no further delays."

"I can't argue with that" Vahle replied.

"In the meantime," Carr ordered, "I need your ship to perform as thorough a sensor scan of our fleet as possible. Make certain that we are free of tracking devices, unauthorized transmissions, or other ways we could be located."

"Of course, Admiral."

Carr smiled. "Don't worry. We'll get through this, Commander."

Vahle said nothing in reply. He had a feeling that she was talking more to herself than to him.

"You get that?" Vahle asked Major Chur.

"Of course, sir. _Zama_ can scan every meter of this fleet without breaking a sweat."

"Let's hope that we don't find anything" Vahle said. "We drop out of hyperspace in four minutes. After the second jump, Flight Ops needs a solid plan ready to dock all of our fighters, or we are going to have to start leaving people behind."

_People besides_ Borhala he thought.

* * *

_Zama_ returned to realspace near the rear of the fleet, having left last save for the Starhawks. The cruiser immediately banked in preparation for its new jump coordinates, the powerful scanners stored in the large sensor bulbs along its hull whirling silently as they studied the fleet.

Tambralynne Kusarni materialized behind them and looked up from her cockpit in relief. As often as she butted heads with Vahle, she liked and respected him as a commander, and not just because he kept her in command and a cockpit when many less flexible officers would have kicked her to a desk years ago. If anyone could get Eighth Mobile through this mess, it was Vahle.

BR-17 beeped, presumably about one of the flashing warning lights on her instrument panel. Tambralynne was not one to get alarmed at the first sign of mechanical trouble, but after the fifth or sixth sign, she started to take notice.

"Hang in there, boy" she said, patting her joystick. "Almost done for the day."

The stars stretched and they were back in the relative safety of hyperspace.

* * *

Less than a minute later, _Supremacy_ appeared, trailed slightly by _Requiem_, Fel Squadron and several of the fleet's other TIEs.

"No targets in sight, Admiral" a lieutenant reported.

"They are clever ones, aren't they?" said Asardus. "I assume that the tracker still has them?"

"Yes, sir" reported the lieutenant. "The signal is coming through strong. Sharing their trajectory with our forces now."

"Recall the fighters" Asardus ordered. "No sense in wasting their fuel on a long chase. Better to preserve their strength for after we've driven our prey to exhaustion, especially after today's losses. Do you understand that, Major Sidna?"

There were several seconds of silence.

"Sidna?" Asardus asked.

"Sir, Fel Squadron has jumped to hyperspace."

"SON OF A-"

* * *

The bridge shuddered a bit as _Zama_ returned to realspace once again. Vahle was not worried yet (on that particular topic), but the fleet was violating recommended hyperdrive safety precautions, and if they were forced to keep that up, things were going to start breaking.

For now, the crucial thing was getting all of their fighters back into hangers. If that gave them a few minutes of running in realspace instead of hyperspace, so much the better.

"Stage One complete, Commander" Chur reported, referring to Flight Ops's hastily-drafted solution to the traffic jam. The trick was not just to get every fighter into a hanger, but to get them all in as quickly as possible, which meant always having a ship entering a hanger, even if it didn't belong there. The numbers disparities were causing issues as well. The intact Vega Squadron was contrasted with a Draco Squadron that was missing a third of its X-wings.

_Zama _had not yet finished processing the scans it made of the fleet, so Vahle turned instead to Communications, ordering another round of contact attempts with Sluis Van and Hosnian Prime.

"Still nothing, sir."

Vahle didn't swear, but he was getting close. The communications blackout was quickly becoming as big of a headache as the dreadnought.

"Sir, unidentified ship coming out of hyperspace."

"Already?" Vahle spat.

"It's not the big ones, sir. Looks like a TIE squadron."

* * *

"Stage Two complete" came the voice of _Alderaan Spirit_'s flight controller. Tambralynne was relieved. Half of the wings were back in the hangers. Just a few more minutes and the fleet would be able to jump towards the Hosnian System. Tambralynne was never, ever one for running from a fight, but even she was close to having enough for one day, and the rest of her squadron were definitely done.

"TIE squadron inbound" a member of Scorpius Squadron reported.

Tambralynne couldn't see them, as she was behind _Ortanic_, but she had a guess.

"That wouldn't happen to be four fast TIEs, tight formation, one different from the rest, would it?" she asked.

"Right on the money, Vega 1" Scorpius 5 responded. "You know 'em?"

"You could say that."

"Fighters, do not engage" Carr ordered. "Continue to follow the landing plan. Gunnery, eliminate those TIEs."

The fleet's ships wasted no time firing every rear-facing gun they had at the incoming fighters, though their targets were too far, too small and too fast to expect much effect.

"Top, I previously received a radio communication from the TIE leader" Tambralynne reported. "I have reason to believe that he is targeting me personally."

"You _are_ rather irritating, Vega 1" Vahle remarked. "All the more reason to get you safely in a hanger."

"Other way round, sir. We can use this to cover the landings."

"Kusarni…"

"I've got this, Vahle" Tambralynne said. "Just keep a hanger slot open for me."

Vahle sighed. He knew that tone. He wasn't going to be able to talk her out of this. _Maybe_ he could order her out of it, but she was probably right. He needed his pilots in hangers as soon as possible, and did not need them getting shot in the back on their way there.

"Alright, Vega 1. Be safe."

"Always am, Top" Tambralynne replied. BR-17 beeped angrily.

"All fighters, finish the landing plan" Vahle ordered. "_Persepholi_, cover Vega 1."

"Copy that, Top" replied the captain of _Raider_-class corvette _Persepholi_. The dagger-shaped ship banked and followed Tambralynne as she shot away from the fleet, perpendicular to the TIE squadron's approach. The trick was to look like a viable target without actually letting the enemy get close. Not an easy task, but Tambralynne Kusarni was always a sucker for a challenge.

* * *

"I see her" Fel 3 reported. "She's separating from the main fleet."

"Good" Rhys Sidna replied. "She's isolating herself."

"We're being baited, Lead" Fel 2 pointed out.

"How can we be baited, when the bait is our target?" Sidna asked.

"Uh, Fel Leader, are you sure we should be focusing on this ace?" asked Fel 7, the gunner on Fel 3's TIE. "Isn't the fleet our priority?"

"First rule of piloting" Sidna replied, checking his munitions. "They kill one of ours, we kill them. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" the squadron replied in unison.

* * *

"Stage Three complete" came the report. "Two minutes to final stage completion."

Tambralynne began a mental countdown as she looked over her shoulder. Fel Squadron was racing towards her, as she expected.

"Hey, Major Sidna!" she shouted into the radio, broadcasting on an open frequency. "If you hate me now, you're going to really hate me when I'm done with the rest of your squad!"

There was no reply as the TIEs banked to pursue.

"Suppressing targets" radioed the _Persepholi_ captain, firing his corvette's rapid-fire forward lasers at Fel Squadron's flank. It didn't do much, but the squadron's formation partially dispersed, hopefully giving Kusarni some openings to exploit.

"Prepare a torpedo for launch" Tambralynne said, turning to face the TIEs head-on. BR-17 beeped.

"I know, I know. I'm not betting on them falling for the same trick twice" the Zeltron replied. "I'm betting on them _using_ the same trick twice."

_Persepholi_'s fire had put Fels 2 and 3 out of position, and they banked towards the corvette to reduce their target profile and keep the Raider off the rest of the squadron. Sidna and Fel 5 kept on Tambralynne, Sidna impatiently watching the lights on his console as his concussion missiles established a targeting lock. The T-85 X-wing's sensor-absorbing exterior made it a hard craft to lock on to, but Special Forces got the First Order's most advanced missiles. The two craft were barely in laser range when Sidna got his lock and fired.

Rhys Sidna was not so naïve as to think that such missiles would actually kill this Kusarni. Even these advanced missiles could be easily dodged by a pilot who saw them coming and knew what they were doing. And Kusarni certainly knew what she was doing. No, the missiles were a feint, a diversion. To avoid them, Kusarni would need to take evasive action, which would open up her flank to Sidna's true attack with his laser cannons.

Rhys Sidna was no mere flyboy, overcoming obstacles with reflexes and bravado. He knew that dogfighting was much more like a game of holochess, each maneuver carefully crafted to position the foe for their ultimate defeat. It was this understanding that made pilots of the Special Forces, and him in particular, so vastly superior to the Republic and Resistance's band of uneducated riffraff.

This train of thought was interrupted when Kusarni charged straight at the missiles, in violation of all pilot training everywhere and, additionally, all common sense.

Sidna was so shocked at her obviously suicidal nature that he almost didn't see her fire a proton torpedo, which slammed into his concussion missiles in a large explosion that filled the space with shrapnel and obscured his view of Kusarni.

Fel Leader had been waiting to see which way Kusarni would dodge the missiles, and now found himself heading straight for the shrapnel cloud. He tilted to fly over it, only to find Kusarni rising up from below him, her laser cannons pointed directly at his underside. Sidna swore and threw himself into a spin as she opened fire. His maneuver dodged most of her lasers, but two struck his underside and left wing, shaking the craft and damaging his power regulator.

Lest Kusarni get too proud of herself, Fel 5 had gone around the explosion the other way, and came to the defense of its leader, spraying Kusarni's X-wing with laser fire. She banked back towards the Republic fleet, but a shot got through her shields and set one of her s-foils on fire.

Nearby, Fel 2 and 3 completed attack runs on _Persepholi_, bracketing the corvette with laser fire, but doing little physical damage. As the TIEs ran the length of the ship, the Raider's helmsman suddenly jerked the ship upwards, nearly slamming its nose into the TIEs. Fel 3 barely dodged, hitting the controls so hard that they locked up, sending the fighter spiraling away from the battle.

"Stage 4 complete" the flight controller radioed. "All fighters save Vega 1 are onboard."

"Understood" said Admiral Carr. "Fleet, prepare to jump!"

"Vega 1, _Zama_ is ready to receive" Vahle said. "Get over here!"

"Don't have to tell me twice" Tambralynne muttered. Her astromech made a loud sighing sound. "Or -17 once."

_Zama_ rose into view, tilting to offer Tambralynne the straightest path to its underbelly hanger. The only problem was getting there.

Rhys Sidna yanked his power reset switch, shut down every surplus system he could and punched the engines of his half-functional TIE. Fel 5 was right behind him, and Fel 2 not far off. Even with Fel 3 temporarily out of the fight, Fel Squadron had more than enough firepower to shoot a wounded X-wing in the back.

"Don't suppose they're laying off?" Tambralynne asked, closing her s-foils and setting her rear shields as high as they would go. The barrage of laser fire coming from behind her provided the answer she hadn't really needed.

As if the situation really needed to get worse, space bent again and the impossible hugeness of the First Order's dreadnought once again towered above the fleet.

"All ships, jump now!" Carr ordered. _Certainty_, _Wisdom_ and the two Tibrinese cruisers immediately blinked out of existence.

"Belay that order, Helm" Vahle snapped. "We jump on my mark and not a second sooner!"

"-17, reroute all the power we can spare to Gun 1, please" Tambralynne said, swerving as a shot from Fel 5 bounced off her shields.

BR-17 beeped with a tone of fury that few non-pilots would suspect astromechs to be capable of.

"I know that's the damaged foil" Tambralynne said, performing a roll while trying to ignore the unnerving shuddering in her control stick. "That's the point!"

BR-17 did the closest thing a droid could do to rolling its eyes and diverted the power. As the droid has suspected, the circuit was damaged, and the attempt to send more power through the burning s-foil simply increased the amount of smoke billowing into space behind them.

Which is exactly what Tambralynne was counting on.

The X-wing swerved again, a zig-zag pattern allowing it to hide behind its own trail of smoke. The three Fels fired blindly into the impromptu smokescreen.

_Ortanic_, _Insight_ and _Alderaan Spirit_ leaped into hyperspace, leaving _Zama_ alone to receive the attention of a ship very much outside of its weight class.

"Kusarni…" Vahle said.

"I… know…" Tambralynne grunted, bringing her fighter into its final approach angle, landing gear out. Laser fire filled the space around her, but most of it was friendly blue bolts from _Zama_'s hanger defense turrets as they tried to keep the TIEs away.

There were no more tricks or maneuvers Tambralynne Kusarni could do, nothing to do but hold the stick steady and hope that the turrets and smoke were throwing off Fel Squadron's aim enough to get her in the hanger.

So she spent the next several seconds pondering why the mess hadn't served keedee wings in a while. Keedee was good.

Vega 1 shot through the force field protecting _Zama_'s ventral hanger and slammed down onto the hanger floor. The ship bounced once, then twice, then skidded across the room as Tambralynne tried to use its maneuvering thrusters to bring it to a stop. But that didn't matter. The officer in the control room just needed physical contact with the ship to say into his open comm channel a single word.

"Mark."

"Mark!" Vahle shouted. Before the word was entirely out of his mouth, the stars were already stretching.

Rhys Sidna had gotten through the smoke. Even considering the evasive maneuvers forced by the Republic's laser turrets, he had still had the X-wing in his sights.

As he fired, the entirety of the Republic cruiser before him has vanished into hyperspace, leaving his laser bolts kissing empty void. Sidna had one second to contemplate what had just happened when a barrage of massive turbolaser shots from multiple directions came hurtling into the area, also pursuing the long-gone Acclamator.

Sidna swore and swerved as he evaded _Supremacy_'s now useless bombardment.

"Do you still have them on tracker?" he radioed _Requiem_.

"As a matter of fact, I do, Major" Asardus replied.

"Great" Sidna replied. His instrument panel beeped. "We took some damage and are low on fuel. We could use a pickup to continue the pursuit."

"Oh? You need assistance?" Asardus said. "I'll be certain to summon someone to collect you."

"No, I mean-" Sidna started.

"Don't worry" Asardus cut him off. "I'm sure we have some units in range. But the chase must go on. Greater good of the First Order and the galaxy and all that."

_Supremacy_ and _Requiem_ jumped into hyperspace.

Sidna barely stopped himself from punching something.

"Wow" said Fel 3. "Admiral's pissed."

"I noticed" Sidna muttered, sinking into his chair and staring out at the endless field of stars.


	7. Flight - Part 2

"Status report" Vahle demanded.

The hanger officer waited several seconds as he watched Tambralynne Kusarni's X-wing slide across the floor of _Zama_'s hanger, finally skidding to a stop as it bumped into several stored fighters, definitely scratching them, but hopefully doing little serious damage.

"Vega 1 is secure" the hanger officer said, after waiting a few more seconds to ensure that nothing was going to burst into flames. Smoke from the X-wing's blasted s-foil was already spreading around the hanger.

"Now THAT was a landing" Warrant Officer Suzan Tuada shouted as she approached the X-wing, fire extinguisher in hand.

Tambralynne opened her cockpit, stood up and then tumbled over the side and onto the hanger floor.

"Yep" she said to the Karkarodon, lying face-up on the floor. "I am the best, and don't you ever forget it."

Tuada smiled, exposing rows of sharklike teeth. BR-17 beeped and shook its head.

* * *

Commander Vahle allowed himself 30 seconds to breathe before he ordered a channel opened to Admiral Carr.

"Commander," the Rodian said. "Glad you are still with us. I was concerned when you didn't jump."

"Had to secure one last pilot" Vahle replied. "The situation is under control now. Well, that situation."

"Indeed," Carr said. "This is quite a mess. The start of a war, and probably a large one. For now, though, our ships are safe and we are on our way to the heart of the Republic. Surely the First Order will not pursue us there, with Home Fleet waiting for them."

Yesterday, Vahle would have agreed. Not today.

"In the meanwhile," Carr continued, "have your crew and pilots rest as much as they can. They have had a long day, and will probably face many more long days in the weeks to come."

"Of course, Admiral" Vahle said. "We will also do what we can to get to the bottom of the communications blackout, and, hopefully, this hyperspace tracking capability the First Order now possesses."

"Agreed, Commander. The fact that they were able to track us following a second jump indicates that their technology is more advanced than a predictive algorithm. I would like to know exactly what they are doing and how we can stop it."

"No objections here, Admiral" Vahle said. "I will alert you as soon as we have anything."

"Good" said Carr. She paused for a second. "You and your crew have done well today, Vahle. Keep up the good work."

"Onward 'til the end" Vahle replied.

* * *

"Well, this is a mess."

The barracks was silent as the various members of Nova Team, mostly in their barracks clothes, ignored Shade's comment, preferring instead to check their weapons, lie down or, in Lieutenant Daniels's case, stare at the wall.

They had gotten up many hours earlier to prepare for and perform a hostage rescue mission. That had, of course, been executed perfectly, give or take one instance of Daniels putting himself in unnecessary danger against regulations. It hadn't been too hard. Galactic Marines were built to handle such missions. But to be thrown into a battle, a real, actual shooting battle against actual soldiers and walkers, shortly afterwards and without warning, was tiring. Vahle had ordered them to rest, but the leftover adrenaline was too strong for anyone to actually relax.

"I said, this is a mess" Shade repeated.

"We heard you" Noarh said.

There was more silence.

"So, are we in a war now?" asked Trooper Nexyl, who was looking over family pictures on her datapad.

"For a state of war to exist requires a formal vote by two-thirds of the Senate" DT-3 said, her three red photoreceptors slowly rotating around her head, as they often did.

There was more silence.

"But it is difficult to see how such a vote could be avoided, given the overtly provocative and hostile nature of the First Order's actions" the droid admitted.

"I'm sure the Senate will find a way" Noarh said, and several of the others laughed.

"Just got the medical report from _Alderaan Spirit_" said Trooper Henli, walking into the room. "The Raider corvette had a very rough landing. A bunch of NRATs got banged up, a few pretty badly."

She sighed.

"But we have 25 Tren Roq personnel who'd be dead or captive without us, so that's something, right?"

"Yeah, real impressive" said Noarh. "We ran away like real heroes."

"Retreating from both the base and the system was the optimal decision" said DT-3. "There was no reason to waste lives or ships against overwhelming odds, especially not for an unimportant, evacuated building."

"You might not know this, Dottie, being a droid and all, but organic soldiers have pride" Noarh said. "And while running away hurts less than a blaster bolt, it still stings. We lost. We lost to those Imperial scumbags, and we had to turn tail and run like we were… we were…"

"Rebels?" Shade suggested. Trooper Lampsen looked up from cleaning his weapon for the third time and nodded.

"Yeah" Noarh said, stroking his beard.

"What's wrong with that?" Nexyl asked. "Doesn't every kid look up at the sky and dream of blowing up Death Stars and saving the galaxy?"

"Not every kid" Henli said. "Plenty of them grow up hearing that the Empire was better, that the Rebellion was a mistake, no matter how transparent a lie that is."

"The Rebel Alliance saved this galaxy, and I, for one, am grateful" said Noarh. "But we're not the Rebel Alliance. We're the New Republic. We're an actual government. We shouldn't be sent packing by a bunch of wannabe bucketheads who never got the memo that the war was over."

"It feels like we missed a few memos ourselves" Shade said. "I'm no expert, but that ship was massive. I think if you want a war, that thing gives you the right to start one."

"What do you suppose they want?" Daniels asked, speaking for the first time. His gaze didn't move from the patch of wall he had been staring at.

"Want?" Nexyl snapped. "Probably the same things as all Imperialists. Power, riches, human domination of the galaxy. Sense of superiority from shooting people who can't fight back."

"No, I mean why did they attack Tren Roq?" Daniels said. "It's an uninhabited jungle planet on the border between Space People Care About and Space People Don't Care About. They made their Super-Duper Star Destroyer or whatever, and they use it to steal trees? It doesn't make any sense. They could have started their war anywhere. Why at a place that doesn't matter?"

"Maybe it is a limited strike" Henli suggested. "A chance to show that the Republic can't push them around, without the difficulties of actually invading and occupying a planet. Maybe today was just a statement that they are back and a force to be reckoned with."

"Let's hope that is the case" said Commander Vahle, walking into the room.

"Commander on deck!" Daniels snapped, and everyone in the room leaped to their feet.

"At ease, soldiers" Vahle said.

"Greetings, Commander" said Dottie. "Is there something we can do for you?"

"Thank you, DT-3. I was nearby and thought I would see how my VJs were handling the situation."

"We're ready for some payback, sir" Daniels said. "Show the First Order who runs this galaxy."

"I'm certain you will get your opportunity soon enough" said Vahle.

Back in the hallway, Colonel Tallion and Major Chur appeared. Tallion was still wearing most of her armor, though she had put away her heavy blaster.

"We're ready, Commander" said Chur.

"I know you've been told this," Vahle said to the room, "but you really should get some rest. The Republic will need you at your best when the time comes. In the meanwhile…"

His eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to go get us some answers."

* * *

Commander Vahle walked silently, hands behind his back, down the halls of _Zama_'s interior, Chur and Tallion flanking him. As they approached the brig, four Republic security droids and an Aqualish officer stepped out to meet them. After confirming Vahle's identity, the droids stepped aside, revealing a hallway of sealed, circular doors.

Vahle stepped forward, briefly glancing into the small, soundproof windows of the cells. The red Besalisk woman who had led Loc Bei's reinforcements was there, as were several of Bei's crew who had yet to be processed. Vahle briefly wondered what they thought was going on, having no information but whatever shudderings of the ship were enough to get through the soundproof cells. He felt no obligation to inform them of the truth.

Finally, Vahle reached the door he sought. He nodded to the Aqualish officer, who typed in a key code. The metal doors retracted, revealing a transparisteel barrier and a human male with a shaved head and black body glove jumpsuit sitting down on a small bench. His armor had been removed for obvious security reasons.

"I am Commander Marius Vahle of the Eighth Mobile Fleet" Vahle said, stepping up to the barrier. Chur, Tallion and the security officer stayed in the hallway, observing. "What is your name?"

"I am Captain EI-3547, 43rd Stormtrooper Legion" the man replied.

"That is not a name" Vahle said. "That is a serial number. Are you a droid? A clone?"

"It is the name I have" said EI-3547, his tone muted. Almost emotionless. "It is the name I have earned."

"Earned?" Vahle asked.

"Names are for those who have proven their worth" EI-3547 said. "I have not yet had the chance to do so." He paused for a second. "I fear now that I may never have that chance, thanks to you and my own weakness."

Vahle hesitated, briefly unsure of how to approach the situation. He decided to try provocative. "Well, it's nice to know that one of my fleet's janitors is worth more than you."

Vahle had hoped that 3547 would be insulted, would respond in anger and say something he shouldn't. Instead, the stormtrooper seemed almost amused. "You would think of it that way, wouldn't you, Commander? Isn't that what the Republic is all about? 'Equality'? Giving things to people that haven't earned them, that don't deserve them? Holding down the strong so that the weak can exploit them?"

"Is that who you think you are?" Vahle asked. "The strong? Because one of us is in a cell at the moment, and it's not the one who believes in equality."

"Is that so, Commander? Am I really the only one in a cage? Or aren't you in one as well? Aren't you running from a superior enemy that you have no hope of defeating? Trapped in your own ship?"

"What does the First Order want with Tren Roq?" Vahle asked, changing the subject.

"Tren Roq is a rightful domain of the Supreme Leader" 3547 said. "But it wasn't of any real interest. Not at this stage. What we wanted was _you_." He tapped the transparisteel, finger aligned with Vahle's forehead.

"It was an ambush" Vahle said. "That's why you didn't seize the base when you had the chance. You _wanted_ them calling for help, in order to lure in a Republic response force. You wanted to face our forces away from our naval bases, on your terms."

Vahle leaned over, his face right next to the transparisteel. He decided to try a bluff next.

"Your plan failed, Captain. Our forces are intact. More are on the way. You have forced the Senate's hand. We were content to let your little remnant of the Empire scrape by on your own before, but now we will have to destroy you."

EI-3547 was quiet for a moment, staring into Vahle's eyes, trying to determine if he was lying.

"You don't have the slightest idea what is going on, do you?" the stormtrooper said.

"What do you mean by that?" Vahle asked, his face remaining blank thanks to his many years of practice.

"Your Republic is dying" EI-3547 said forcefully, standing for the first time. "As we speak, the First Order is tearing its decrepit roots from the soil of a thousand worlds. And in its place planting the seeds of true civilization!"

"I don't know what they teach you in First Order propaganda holos, but the Republic has your population outnumbered at least a thousand to one. Probably much more than that. We're not someone you want to be battling head-on."

EI-3547 tapped the transparisteel again. "But you see, Commander, you built the chain that is your Republic out of weak links. Like anything with a frail foundation, it has rotted away from the inside. But us?" He smiled. "We have burned away our weakness. We have made ourselves strong."

"Is that so?" Vahle asked. "Because I don't think you know what strength really is."

"Commander, urgent message from Sensors" Chur interrupted. "They've found something in the scan data."

Vahle spent two seconds staring into the eyes of EI-3547. The man seemed to believe what he was saying, not that Vahle expected the First Order to have given someone like him much in the way of truth. Then, without a word, the commander turned and left the cell.

"Yesterday I lived in your galaxy, Commander" EI-3547 called after him. "Tomorrow, you will wake up in mine!"

"Lock it down" Vahle said to the Aqualish security officer without looking back.

* * *

"What exactly am I looking at?" Admiral Carr asked, her hologram flickering more than usual as the radiation of hyperspace interfered with the transmission.

"This is a scan profile of _Wisdom_" the Sensors officer said, gesturing to the diagram on the screen in front of him. "Shows every ping of radiation we could pick up bouncing off of it."

"And the important part?" Carr asked.

"We don't see any active transmissions of any type on any frequency, so it does not appear that they have a tracking device attached to one of our ships. This would also seem to rule out a spy or mole telling the First Order where we are going. Not that that was every especially likely, since the spy would need immediate access to our navigation systems or the encrypted comms we used to share coordinates."

"So what have you found?" Vahle asked, not bothering to study the diagram, since he had no chance of understanding it.

"Look at this" said the officer, pointing to a specific part of the diagram. "These are subspace waves, the same sort that people across the galaxy use for long-distance communications."

"I thought you said there were not any active transmissions" Carr remarked.

"There aren't. These waves aren't being generated here. They are bouncing off of us."

"Is that normal?" Tallion asked.

"Yes and no. Space is full of random subspace waves, and runoff from civilian communications broadcasts hits us all the time. But these waves are not scattered, random and weak like you would expect from that. They are hitting us in a steady, continuous pulse pattern."

"It is artificial?" Major Chur asked.

"It's radar" Vahle replied.

"Something like that, yes" the Sensors officer said. "These waves come out, bounce off of our ship, and return to parts unknown. Not too different from regular active scanners, but the type of radiation used is… atypical. Like I said, it is subspace waves like you would expect in a communications system, not sensors. And the frequency is strange. It's not one normally used for chatter at all. Most sensor packages wouldn't even have noticed them. It's only because we have so much gear here, and even then we only spotted them because we were checking every possibility."

"Good to know your flagship was worth the taxpayer credits, Commander" Carr said.

"So, we think these waves are the result of some sort of First Order hyperspace tracking system?" Vahle asked.

"That's our theory" said the Sensors officer.

"Hyperspace tracking is supposed to be impossible" Tallion said. "If this works, why haven't people been doing it for millennia?"

"Well, the spectra used for regular scanners can't look into hyperspace, which is why they used communications-style subspace waves. The output quality has got to be terrible, so I doubt we are more than blips on their screen. And the subspace waves scatter and weaken quite a lot when they bounce off a target, so whatever feedback they are getting would be very faint and, I would assume, at a limited range. Their sensors must be extremely sensitive to pick it up at all. Then you'd need an enormous amount of computing power to stitch all of those weak signals together and actually spot your target, let alone calculate their speed and trajectory with enough accuracy to pursue through hyperspace. And that's not even mentioning some way to keep every asteroid in the sector from showing up…"

"We get it, it's hard" Vahle cut in. "How do we make it even harder?"

The officer shrugged. "Not much we can do right now. I mean, I could see a ship being built to absorb rather than reflect the waves, but that's not us. We could try to outrun them to the point that there is too much distance between us and they can no longer pick up the reflected signals, or do something to make them lose us in a crowd of similar blips. In theory we could jam it, but the signal is so basic and their system is so obviously built to detect weak feedback and filter out noise that it would be tough to find a pattern that would effectively stop them. We can run some simulations to try and find an option."

"Do that" Carr said.

"We have questioned our stormtrooper prisoner, Admiral" Vahle said. "It appears that the Tren Roq attack was intended to lure in and destroy Republic forces, not to seize the planet itself."

"That is not an end goal. That is a step in a larger plan" Carr said. "Fortunately, that step has failed for the moment. Let us do our best to keep it that way."

"Ma'am, we're picking up a message" said an officer on _Ortanic_, stepping into the hologram's frame.

"From whom?" Carr asked.

"Unclear, Admiral. It appears to be transmitting on most of the major civilian and military frequencies."

"So it is not for us, specifically?" Carr inquired.

"No, ma'am. It looks like the whole galaxy is getting it."

"I have a bad feeling about this" Chur said as a second hologram appeared, showing a red-haired man in a black uniform and a twin-peaked hat.

"Am I the only one who thinks that hat looks stupid?" a Navigation officer asked. Nobody answered.

"Greetings, citizens of the galaxy" the man said. "I am General Armitage Hux of the First Order. For thirty years, the so-called New Republic has allowed chaos and corruption to run wild, imperiling the good people of the galaxy with their weakness and decadence."

"How can we be both weak _and_ decadent?" someone on the other side of the bridge asked.

"No longer" Hux continued. "From this day forward, the galaxy will have the firm, protective hand it so desperately needs."

"That doesn't sound good" someone else said.

"A few hours ago, the First Order unleashed its most powerful creation, Starkiller Base, upon the heart of the Republic in the Hosnian System." General Hux vanished, replaced by imagery of some sort of spherical object (the camera angle made it so difficult to get a good look that Vahle suspected that that might be intentional) with a red beam of energy emerging from it.

"This decrepit pit of broken promises and failed ideals is now ash" Hux snarled, as a new video played, showing five red beams slamming into what looked like planetoids, which appeared to combust.

Everyone present gasped except Vahle, whose face morphed into a scowl few around him could remember seeing.

"The Senate is dead" Hux said, returning to the transmission. "Their navy is dead."

The camera shifted to show just his face.

"The Republic is dead."

_Zama_'s bridge went absolutely silent.

"The First Order's mighty fleet has been deployed to systems across the galaxy" Hux continued. "It will root out what remains of the corrupt Republic and ensure a smooth transition to proper governance. These next few weeks will be trying ones. But I assure you all that once you are safely under the protection of the First Order, you will understand. Comply, and you will have peace. Resist, and you will have death."

The man smiled, resembling a waiter looking for a tip more than a reassuring authority figure.

"Have a nice day."

The hologram vanished, and for several seconds, _Zama_ remained quiet.

Then the shouting started.

* * *

Vahle's personal commlink beeped. He checked it, immediately wished he had not and opened a hologram of Captain Tellea of the Tibrin Defense Fleet.

"Commander Vahle" the Ishi Tib demanded, both halves of his beak grinding against each other. "What is the meaning of this First Order transmission?"

Vahle summoned every ounce of diplomatic tact he possessed and replied. "Captain, we are aware of the First Order's assertions, and are working as we speak to authenticate or disprove them. Please stand by as we prepare our next steps."

Tellea started to say something, but Vahle terminated the connection, turned around to face the bridge and shouted "Quiet!"

After a second or two of continued chatter, Tallion stepped forward with a much louder and deeper "SHUT UP!" That got people's attention.

"Admiral Carr?" Vahle asked the hologram, who had just gotten her own bridge under control. Carr took a second to compose herself, and then spoke.

"My fellow soldiers, I do not know any more about this situation than you do. What is clear is that the First Order has launched a truly brazen assault upon our Republic. We must stand strong, and be prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect our homes, our families and our freedoms."

"What verification options do we have?" Vahle asked Chur, not wanting to leave an opening for panic to return.

"Not a lot until we get to the Hosnian System" she replied. "We haven't been able to contact that system in hours, but the communications blackout has affected many more systems than that, so I can't say if that is proof that it has been destroyed."

"I'll go down and make preparations in case someone on the crew does something they shouldn't" said Tallion. "Hate to have a riot or worse."

"Hopefully it won't come to that" said Vahle.

"This isn't looking like a great day for hope" the Trandoshan replied, heading for the turbolift. Vahle didn't have a counterargument.

"Commander, come look at this" said a lieutenant at Sensors.

"What is it?" asked Vahle, Chur following.

"I thought this image looked familiar" said the lieutenant, pulling up a still of the alleged planetary destruction from General Hux's transmission. "Remember that weird astronomical anomaly we saw after the Loc Bei operation? Well, here's an image _Insight_ took of it." She pointed to a new holoimage, five faint red lines arcing out from a single point. "The detail is much lower, but the angle looks about the same."

"How would that be possible?" Chur asked. "If what we saw was in the Hosnian System, then we were looking thousands of lightyears away with our bare eyes."

"I've got no idea" the lieutenant said. "Just trying to validate or disprove General Crazy Hat."

"Sir, I'm picking up civilian holonet traffic" said someone at Comms. "Obviously, it's full of buzz about the First Order's claims, but HoloNet News is reporting that their Hosnian branch office has been silent for several hours. They think that is confirmation."

"That could simply be the communications blackout" Vahle said.

"Of course, sir, but it looks like people all around the galaxy are reporting seeing five red lines in the sky, just like we did. At roughly the same time, as well."

"New transmission, sir" reported another Comms officer.

"What else do they want?" Vahle asked, exasperated.

"This one is on official Republic military channels" the Comms officer replied. "Audio only."

"Good" said Carr. "Perhaps the communications blackout has ended, and we can finally begin organizing a response." Vahle wasn't sure what kind of response could really be mounted under such circumstances, but he was willing to hear suggestions.

"Attention all Republic forces" came an older, higher-pitched male voice from the console. "This is Senator Erudo Ro-Kiintor of Hevurion, Chairman of the Senate Defense Committee."

"I'm getting a confirmation code" someone from Comms said. "Defense Committee ID checks out. Sounds like it's really him."

Vahle allowed himself to be a little relieved. Ro-Kiintor wasn't Fleet Admiral Cadmiete, but he was _someone_ in a position of authority, and that was a start.

"I am aware of the First Order's attacks, and their claims" Ro-Kiintor continued. "Unfortunately, though I have not seen it with my own eyes, I believe that the reports of planetary destruction are true. The head – and the heart – of the Republic are gone. Additionally, powerful First Order fleets have attacked all of our bases. Ithor, Sluis Van and Nexus Ortai have fallen. Our fleets have all been destroyed. Our central command structure has been destroyed. It pains me to say it, but the Republic's ability to defend itself has been destroyed."

Carr slammed her fist on her console so hard that her hologram shook.

"In the face of this, and the First Order's immense, planet-destroying power, I have no choice. As the highest-ranking member living member of the Senate, I am officially ordering all remaining New Republic forces to stand down."

Vahle's eyes narrowed into a glare that could cut through durasteel.

"I repeat, all Republic forces are ordered to stand down and surrender to the First Order. I'm sorry, but that is all I can do for you, for the planets of the Republic and for the people of this galaxy. Please, allow this war to end today, before more have to die."

General Hux's transmission had set _Zama_'s bridge abuzz with uncontrolled chatter and wild speculation. Ro-Kiintor's was met instead with stunned, dejected silence. The blows to the Eighth Mobile's confidence that day, from the raw power of the First Order's dreadnought, to the claim that their government had been decapitated, were nothing compared to this. Orders not just to stand down, but to _surrender_. To lose a war they hadn't known about six hours prior. To cease to be Republic military as the Republic no doubt ceased to be entirely.

These were orders to disband.

For almost a minute, the bridge was silent and still, the only noticeable motion the blue-white swirls of hyperspace. Finally, an ensign spoke up with the question on everybody's lips.

"What do we do?"

"Well, Admiral?" Commander Vahle asked, hardening his features. If there was ever a time not to show emotions in front of the crew, this was it.

"What is your opinion of the legality of that order, Commander?" Carr inquired.

"Legality?" Vahle had not expected that. "Well, if both High Command and the Senate Defense Committee have been as devastated as one would expect from the sudden implosion of the capital, then it would seem plausible that Senator Ro-Kiintor has the legal authority to do this."

"Yes" said Carr. "But only if High Command is, indeed, devastated."

"Are you doubting this claim of planetary annihilation?" Vahle asked.

"I merely note that we lack a firm understanding of if Senator Ro-Kiintor has the authority he claims, which may be sufficient grounds to disregard his orders at this time."

"You want to fight" Vahle said.

"I want to do my job, Commander" Carr replied. "And I am reluctant to spend the rest of my life knowing that a second Galactic Empire was established on my watch."

Vahle rubbed his chin.

"Senator Ro-Kiintor said that all Republic fleets have been destroyed. That is factually incorrect, as demonstrated by the fact that we are still standing here. Perhaps his information is incomplete."

"Or perhaps he doesn't care" interjected Chur. "It is awfully convenient that he issued this order within minutes of the First Order's declaration of victory. And he seemed very certain that he had the authority to give a galaxy-changing order so soon after an unforeseen cataclysm."

"You think he is compromised, Major?" Vahle asked.

"I can't say, sir" the Pantoran replied. "Only that it is a possibility we must consider."

"That would explain a lot" Carr said. "The First Order's job is certainly easier if they have a Republic senator in a position to order our surrender."

"I don't know what Ro-Kiintor's situation is, or what his motives are," Vahle said. "But is that enough to establish reason to delay the implementation of his likely legal orders?"

"Do we really need legal cover?" Chur asked. "If the order is legal, then it doesn't matter if we follow it or not. No one will be left to discipline us."

"We are a republic of laws, Elini" Vahle said. "We cannot place ourselves above the chain of command or our elected representatives, or we become a threat to what we've sworn to protect."

"A noble sentiment, Commander Vahle" Carr said. "Though I share it, I believe that we have established sufficient doubt to warrant continued action. The galaxy is in crisis right now, and we may be the only ones in a position to do anything about it."

"Admiral Carr, you have rank and seniority" Vahle said. "I defer to your judgment. What do you want us to do?"

"Tell me, Commander, do you believe that Hosnian Prime and Home Fleet have, in fact, been destroyed?" Carr asked.

"I cannot say with certainty, but that does seem to be the case" Vahle said. "Between the First Order video, the HoloNet News report and our own astronomical observations, this would have to be an enormously complex bluff by the First Order for seemingly very little gain, since a surviving Senate and Home Fleet would quickly make themselves known."

"And are the First Order forces still pursuing us?"

"We are still detecting hyperspace tracking pings" a Sensors officer reported. "We don't know if the enemy is still close enough to read them, but their source is 13 lightyears behind us and matching our general velocity and trajectory through hyperspace."

"Then I don't think running to Hosnian Prime will do us any good" Carr said. "It is possible that there are surviving civilian, Home Fleet or Hosnian Defense Force ships in the system, but any rescue attempt by us will simply put the survivors in more danger, thanks to that dreadnought."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Vahle asked.

"We need to halt our current course, and get these ships off our tail, and there's only one way to do that."

"Admiral, you can't be ordering-"

"I am, Commander Vahle. All ships in the fleet are to prepare for a hard cut maneuver immediately."

Somehow _this_ was the thing that day that threw Vahle visibly off-guard. He hesitated, then straightened his posture and hardened his face.

"A hard cut? That is a very dangerous procedure" he said matter-of-factly.

"This is a very dangerous day, Commander" Carr replied.

"Hard to argue with that" Vahle muttered.

"Keep the faith, Marius" Carr said, forcing herself to smile. "As the stars burn…"

"…liberty endures" Vahle finished, more out of instinct than conviction.

The motto of the New Republic.

For however long such things mattered.

* * *

"You want us to do _what_?" Captain Tellea shouted.

Vahle had expected that reaction, which is why he had saved Tellea for last, though that wasn't making it any easier to deal with.

"We are going to execute a hard cut maneuver," the commander said, "manually disconnecting our hyperdrives to revert to realspace before we reach our intended destination."

"Are you mad?" Tellea snapped. "That is asking to strand yourself between the stars! Assuming you don't destroy your ship entirely!"

"It is difficult to do safely, Captain, but I assure you that Republic ships are designed with this capability in mind. We undergo training and practice precisely for such circumstances."

Maybe not these _exact_ circumstances, but Vahle wasn't going to tell him that. The Ishi Tib was ornery enough as it was.

"That is all well and good, _Commander Vahle_" – Tellea's displeasure was soaked into every syllable of that name – "but our crews are not trained for such things."

Vahle very, very narrowly avoided swearing.

"Please hold a moment, Captain" he said, turning off the holographic transmission before Tellea had a chance to respond.

"Admiral, we have a problem" he said to Carr.

"We have many problems" Carr replied.

"The Tibrinese aren't trained to perform hard cuts. I'm not sure if they can do the maneuver, at least not safely, and certainly not without scattering the fleet across a wide patch of space."

"That is, indeed, a problem" Carr said. "We may be forced to cut them loose."

"With respect," said Captain Milap Grel of _Certainty_, also present in hologram form, "perhaps we can be of assistance."

Gears turned simultaneously in Carr and Vahle's heads.

"Use the interdiction field…" Vahle said.

"…to pull the entire fleet to realspace at once" Carr finished.

"Exactly" Grel said, his excitement somehow visible even through his Kel Dor breathing mask.

"Make the calculations" Vahle ordered. He reactivated Tellea's hologram.

"Good news, Captain."

"This entire invasion has been a massive hoax?" the Ishi Tib said dryly.

"Close" Vahle replied. "We have a solution to your insufficient training problem. Instead of directly disabling our hyperdrives, we can have our interdictor create a gravity well large enough to grab the entire fleet out of hyperspace whether we want it or not."

"An interdictor?" Tellea asked. "We are not smugglers."

"Yes, we normally use this technology to stop foes from running away from us" Vahle said. "But that doesn't mean that it can't work to help _us_ run away from _them_."

"I do not approve of this tactic, Commander Vahle. I insist that we continue to Hosnian-"

Vahle deactivated the hologram again.

"We're good to go" he reported to Carr.

"Understood. Captain Grel, are you prepared?"

"_Certainty_ is always prepared to stop something" the Kel Dor replied.

"We need to time this right" Vahle said. "Don't have that field active for a second longer than we need to, or you'll grab our pursuers as well."

"We are nothing if not a precision instrument, Commander" Grel said.

"Very well then," Carr remarked. "Let's put that to the test. All ships, brace for emergency hyperspace exit in 10… 9… 8…"

Everyone on the bridge of _Zama_ sat down and prepared themselves for what could be a very bumpy stop.

"3… 2… 1… Execute!"

The blues and whites of hyperspace suddenly shifted, an ominous red glow filling the bridge's windows. For a second or two, there was shaking, but then, almost smoothly, the stars snapped back into place.

"Maneuver complete" Grel reported. "All ships accounted for. Disengaging gravity well."

Someone on the bridge cheered. Vahle did not.

"Navigation, how are the new coordinates coming?" the commander asked.

"Our computer is sharing all of our data with _Ortanic_" a Navigation officer replied. "Shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get something useable and reposition to jump."

The primary danger of exiting hyperspace early was that a navicomputer could become disoriented and have difficulty calculating safe routes through the depths of space. This could usually be avoided if one had powerful sensors and a lot of time to run calculations, but the fleet only had one of those at the moment.

"Are we still on the First Order's tracker?"

"We are still picking up the tracker signals" Sensors replied. "The enemy is closing."

Vahle walked over to the Sensors station, staring at a screen where a little red dot representing the signal source inched slowly towards their position.

"Commander," Navigation reported, "we have a short hyperspace vector pathed. Fleet is adjusting position now."

The red dot kept moving towards them.

"Estimated time to jump?" Vahle demanded.

"Less than a minute!" Navigation replied, sensing the tension in the commander's voice.

Vahle stared at the red dot. He put every drop of willpower into his stare, trying to force the dot to continue past them.

The dot slowed and then stopped.

Right on top of them.

Vahle might have sworn if he had time to. Instead, he turned to the rest of the bridge and shouted.

"Brace for enemy fire!"

* * *

Admiral Asardus was impressed, and that did not happen often. The Republic fleet had stopped dead in space, clearly the result of a hard cut maneuver. Even now, even after Hux's declaration to the galaxy, even after they had not doubt received the orders to surrender, still this little fleet was trying to wriggle their way out of their fate.

It was pointless, of course. Not only had the hyperspace tracker detected their maneuver almost immediately, but even if they had managed to slip away here, where could they go?

There was one minor problem, though. Asardus's forces snapped into realspace a short distance ahead of their prey, which meant that the powerful forward guns were facing the wrong direction.

The Republic fleet banked, clearly trying to line up a new hyperspace vector. _Supremacy_ fired its rear cannons as it began the arduous process of turning around. _Requiem_ was quicker, but it also did not look to be in a position to take many shots.

That was acceptable. Asardus had other options.

* * *

"TIEs inbound!" someone at Sensors shouted.

"Time to jump?" Vahle demanded.

"15 seconds!" was the reply.

"Seal hangers, maximum shields, brace for impact!" Carr ordered.

Out in space, a horde of TIE fighters emerged from both _Requiem_ and _Supremacy_. Flying at top speed, they fired their lasers with little regard for accuracy. The Republic ships were certainly large enough targets, although the TIE's anti-fighter weapons bounced off the heavy shields without much effect.

"We're good!" Navigation shouted as the ships stretched and vanished. The Republic fleet was back in hyperspace.

* * *

Asardus didn't react.

"Still got them. Transmitting target coordinates to the fighters" an officer reported. "It looks like they've made a microjump. It won't be long."

"Tell the TIEs to actually aim for the engines this time" Asardus replied. "I don't need any repetitions of Fel Squadron's behavior."

"I wouldn't worry about it" the officer said as the pack of TIEs disappeared into hyperspace. "We have them right where we want them."

* * *

The Republic fleet snapped back into existence, their ten seconds of hyperspace not feeling like nearly enough to secure safety.

"Get us a longer jump this time!" Carr ordered. "If we can still see them on sensors, they can definitely see us!"

"That's the price of not crashing!" one of _Ortanic_'s navigation officers replied. "People don't do hard cuts for a reason!"

"Incoming fighter swarm" another officer reported. "Should we launch fighters?"

"Negative" Carr said. "We'll only be here a minute. Execute counter-fire!"

_Of course their fighters have hyperdrives_ Vahle thought as three dozen TIEs appeared. _The one thing the First Order learned from the Galactic Civil War, and was making TIEs worth more than the fuel they burn_.

"This is going to hurt" he muttered, so softly that only Chur could hear him, as the TIE cloud pounced on the fleet.

Turbolasers and anti-fighter cannons roared (as much as they could in the vacuum of space, of course) as the TIEs divided into several groups and began bracketing the fleet with laser fire. The first run did very little against the powerful Republic shields, and the turrets even scored a couple of kills, especially as the tightly-packed TIEs pulled away.

Vahle didn't permit himself a sliver of hope, and that decision was rewarded when the TIEs swung around for their second attack. With the Republic shields not entirely recovered from the first run, the TIEs' new laser barrage and a cluster of concussion missiles began to leave some scratches.

The Mon Calamari ships, _Insight_, _Wisdom_ and _Certainty_, held up well, as their pedigree promised. _Ortanic_ pitched forward as a TIE formation came towards it, lining up its heavy turbolaser cannons with the front of the group and forcing it to scatter. _Alderaan Spirit_ had its massive hanger openings sealed behind thick durasteel doors, and its array of anti-fighter weapons made quick work of any TIE approaching them, but the First Order fighters were attacking essentially unmolested on the carrier's flat dorsal side. _Zama_ rolled to the side to angle an attack run away from the vital dorsal sensor bulbs. One damaged TIE came roaring towards the bridge, but a perfect shot from one of the ship's batteries blew it into harmless bits that pattered against the bridge's shield like raindrops.

Elsewhere, things were not going as smoothly. The few corvettes around the fleet had initially tried to form a defense, but were quickly forced to shift away from the TIEs for their own safety. One of the Tibrinese cruisers kept to the far side of the battle, but the other took a blow to the side and began venting smoke. The carrier _Fortitude_, already damaged from Tren Roq, was developing several new holes. Worst of all was Fourth Main's _Aquitens_-class light cruiser, _Suleigh_, which was completely swarmed.

"Fleet's in position" Carr's navigation officer reported.

"We've lost engines and shields" _Suleigh_'s captain reported. "We don't have a chance! Get out of here!"

"_Suleigh_, I-" Carr started, only for the cruiser's reactor to ignite, tearing the ship and its attacking TIEs apart in a massive explosion.

"Go!" the Rodian ordered, finding that the rest of the fleet's ships were already ahead of her, leaping into hyperspace and splattering several TIEs in the process.

* * *

"This is getting out of hand" Vahle muttered to himself, well aware of how insufficiently that described the situation.

"You really have gotten us into quite a mess, Vahle" Tambralynne Kusarni said, walking onto the bridge. She was still in her light blue flight suit, contrasting with her short azure hair and deep pink skin, and she had what was without a doubt the only smile on the ship.

"I learned how to get in over my head from you" Vahle replied. "How are the pilots?"

"They've gotten a meal, at least, and their fighters patched up. The squadrons are ready to get back out there and start pounding TIEs."

"That is good" Vahle said. "Because we have a bigger problem right now."

He pressed a button on his console, and a holographic display of an _Endurance_-class fleet carrier appeared. Several large sections were highlighted in red.

"_Fortitude_ took substantial damage in the last attack" Vahle said. "Its reactor appears to be cracked. That's not necessarily a death blow to a ship, but fixing it would require stopping and shutting down the reactor for lengthy repairs, which is obviously not an option here. Admiral Carr has ordered it abandoned."

"At this rate, the fleet's just going to be _Zama_ and my X-wing" Tambralynne said.

"Well, until we get to that point, we have three major tasks when we drop out of hyperspace in half an hour" Vahle said. "One, _Fortitude_'s crew needs to be evacuated, using whatever shuttlecraft we have as well as their functioning escape pods. Two, all of its functional fighter craft need to be transferred into new hangers. Of course, _Fortitude_ had a larger hanger than anything else we've got, so those squadrons are being split among our ships. Third, the rest of the fleet's hyperdrives need time to cool again, which means we're going to need to do this while running for our lives in realspace."

The commander sighed. "And there may or may not be a giant pack of TIE fighters on top of us the entire time."

Tambralynne immediately saluted. "Ready and willing to lead the defense, Commander!"

"I figured as much" Vahle said. "But that's why I feel the need to deliver these orders in person."

He stepped forward, bringing their faces together so close that their noses almost touched.

"Your sole objective, Wing Commander Kusarni, is to defend the fleet while these maneuvers are completed. No offensives, no heroics. Just get the job done. Understood?"

Tambralynne looked into Vahle's eyes, and she could tell that he was serious. Well, he was always serious, but he was really, _really_ serious this time.

"I'll get it done, sir" she replied, which was the closest she could get to really, _really_ serious.

"You'd better" Vahle said. "I'd hate to have put up with you this long only for you to fail me now."

"Tambralynne Kusarni never fails" the Zeltron said. "She just wins more creatively than others."

"Dismissed, Commander" Vahle said, quickly willing away his slight hint of a smile. He hoped she was right, or this war wasn't going to last very long.

* * *

Dido Asardus stood in thought, staring out at the swirling lights of hyperspace. Her TIEs had been unable to prevent the Republic fleet's escape, though, unlike Fel Squadron, they had actually tried. It didn't matter, of course. _Requiem_ and _Supremacy_ had arrived soon enough, collected the TIEs rather than risk further casualties, and continued the pursuit. _Supremacy_'s fighter wing had been particularly damaged by the sudden explosion of a Republic light cruiser. An unfortunate consequence of necessarily aggressive tactics.

The hyperspace tracker was continuing to work perfectly, and the Republic ships were no doubt being run ragged. It could not be more than a few more narrow escapes before their hyperdrives overheated or they ran out of hyperfuel. Either way, Asardus was content to wait them out, confident in the engineering of both of her ships, their vast power resources and hyperdrive cooling technology allowing days, if not weeks, of continuous pursuit. By the reports she was hearing from around the galaxy, this chase might be the only true action she got during the war. All major Republic Navy strongholds were in the First Order's hands, and the galactic mood appeared to be aimed at a wise surrender. A few planetary defense fleets would no doubt need crushing, but at this rate, the First Order was on track to control all of space within a day or so. And for any planets foolish enough to resist strongly on the ground, well, one or two more demonstrations of Starkiller Base would correct their misunderstandings.

A man in a grey uniform and a black armored vest walked onto the bridge.

"Ah, Agent Barzillai" Asardus said. "What have you gathered for me?"

The First Order Security Bureau agent bowed and handed over a datapad, which Asardus began to skim through.

She knew Vice Admiral Aras Carr well enough, having anticipated a confrontation with her as a part of the Fourth Main Fleet's destruction. She knew of Carr's past as a lowly frigate captain in the Rebel Alliance, and of her great triumph leading Republic forces in the Maracavanya War. Carr was competent and ferocious, but her record indicated a preference for open battle that would give Asardus the advantage, especially with _Supremacy_ at her back. Asardus actually hoped that Carr would stop running and fight a last stand, both to simplify matters and to give Asardus something to film for propaganda holovids for the decades to come. At the very least, she was quite confident that the Rodian would not surrender, and she respected that.

Commander Vahle, on the other hand, had proven to be an interesting surprise. He had handled his fleet superbly against her vastly superior one, and she wished to know how. Beyond practical reasons and legitimate curiosity, Asardus also saw merit in the ability to describe Vahle as a dangerous foe in her reports and the history texts.

"Fleet Commander Marius Alexsandr Vahle" said Agent Barzallai. "Anaxi human, born on Axum in the Anaxes System 14 years After New Order. Family has a long history of naval service to both the Republic and Empire, including Admiral Gaius Vahle in the Clone Wars. Graduated third in his class from the Anaxes War College and second in his class at the New Republic Naval Academy. Possesses graduate degree in military history from the AWC with the thesis _The Economics of Eternal War: How the Galactic Empire doomed itself in its first five years_."

"Charming," Asardus remarked, eyes fixed on the datapad.

"Commanded a light cruiser squadron," Barzallai continued, "before receiving command of and heavily restructuring the Eighth Mobile Fleet at an unusually young age and low rank, developing it a reputation as the Republic's premier anti-piracy force. Led Republic forces during several operations of note, including the Iwwi-Alger Crisis and multiple actions against the Zann Consortium crime group. FOSB marked him for possible recruitment, but preliminary outreach was unsuccessful. Specialties are small-scale fleet combat, counter-insurgency and police actions."

"He does handle a small fleet well" Asardus remarked, returning the datapad.

"You respect him?" Barzallai asked, a bit surprised.

"Respecting an enemy is not a sign of weakness" the admiral said. "On the contrary, it demonstrates your own ability to measure the situation appropriately. But I don't care what sort of frigate tricks Marius Vahle tries. I have him outgunned a thousand to one and running for his life in a galaxy that no longer considers him part of its government. This is no possible outcome here besides a First Order victory."

"Of course, Admiral" Barzallai said, turning and walking towards the turbolift. Then he stopped and ran a finger over his shaved head, a habit of his.

"Oh, yes, I have received a report that Fel Squadron has been collected by one of our frigates."

"Thank you, Agent" Asardus said, her eyes focused on the blue flickers of hyperspace.

_Well, _she thought,_ no one was expecting the day to be perfect_.

* * *

Once again, the stars snapped back into place as the Republic fleet returned to realspace. Commander Vahle considered himself a meticulous individual, but even he was starting to lose track of the number of times they had done this today.

The commander gave no order. There was no order to give. The plan had already been written and distributed. The only question now was how well it would be executed.

The fleet immediately fired its engines, trying to build up sublight velocity while the hyperdrives cooled. _Fortitude_ was in bad shape, its engines barely functional. _Ortanic_ banked, locked onto the carrier with its famously powerful tractor beams and began dragging it along.

The first wave out of the hangers were not fighters, but shuttles and U-wings, all immediately heading for _Fortitude_. An equally large set of transport craft and escape pods emerged from the fleet carrier, carrying all of the crew and supplies they could.

Watching the two clusters of ships pass through each other, resembling strange amoebas fusing and splitting, Vahle swore to himself that if any of them survived this, he would personally petition to give every single flight controller in the fleet a Republic Star.

The second wave to launch were the fighters, quickly taking formation above the fleet. Two dozen X-wings, a dozen A-wings and all of the Eskies the fleet had available flew in a slow, fuel-conserving circle. It wasn't the greatest defensive formation, but the gamble was that any First Order attack would only come from one direction, which meant that the fighters did not need to spread out as much as they would otherwise.

"This is nuts" Draco 8 said, watching the lines of shuttles below.

"Yeah" replied Altair 7.

"Stay focused, squadron" Tambralynne said, her tone unusually serious. "If the First Order shows up, we're the only thing between a successful rescue and an utter disaster."

"'If' the First Order shows up?" Draco 8 asked. "Why wouldn't they? They've shown up every time before."

"People get tired" Tambralynne replied, at a loss for a more impressive argument. "Well, other people do, anyways."

* * *

Vahle was back at the Sensors station, staring at the dot representing the First Order fleet. As always, it creeped forward at a steady pace, until, once again, it began to slow.

Right on top of them.

"Execute maneuver!" Vahle shouted. Carr was in charge, of course, but she'd delegated this order to _Zama_, since it was the only ship that could "see" the First Order tracking system. The entire fleet banked once again, angling itself away from the First Order's likely point of egress and sending its engines into overdrive to try and score some distance.

"Stage 1 complete" reported the flight controller.

Vahle almost swore.

They hadn't been fast enough.

* * *

Admiral Asardus looked over the situation, preparing for yet another battle with Carr and Vahle.

The novelty was starting to wear off.

The Republic ships were in a somewhat tight formation, with their interdictor, light carrier and the Tibrinese ships at the front, and their Mon Cala ships and Starhawk guarding the rear, a single _Endurance_-class carrier lingering further behind. From the visible flames and the flurry of shuttlecraft activity around it, it was clear that that carrier was not long for this galaxy.

Asardus's first instinct was another TIE charge. That is what First Order doctrine would propose – a powerful assault to quickly overwhelm a weakened enemy. But she was aware of the casualties her pilots had taken this day. Another brutal clash, even if they came out on top, could leave her without the fighters needed to defend her ships from a Republic bomber counterattack.

"Hold the fighters for now" the admiral said. "Let's let our gunners have their turn."

"Of course, sir" replied an officer.

* * *

Despite the Republic's efforts, the First Order ships had emerged not far behind them, and their massive turbolaser emplacements wasted no time.

"Scatter formation!" Tambralynne ordered.

The fighters circling the Republic fleet broke formation and spread out, trying to minimize the chance of losses from First Order artillery while still retaining the ability to swarm any enemy fighters that came at the fleet.

The dreadnought seemed to be taking a minute to zero in its shots, massive balls of plasma arcing around the fleet but growing ever closer. Asardus's Star Destroyer was better keyed in and several shots struck _Wisdom_, _Insight_ and the already-floundering _Fortitude_. With rear shields already maximized, the damage was minimal.

For the moment.

"Stage 2 completed" reported a flight director. Vahle sighed. One more to go.

One of _Fortitude_'s engines exploded.

"Vahle" Admiral Carr said, as she materialized before him in hologram form. "_Fortitude_ is taking too much fire. It's not going to last long enough to finish the evacuation."

"Permission to attack?" Tambralynne called in.

"Denied" Vahle replied. "Losing a squadron now puts the entire fleet at risk."

"We can draw them off" Tambralynne repeated. "Buy _Fortitude_ a bit more time."

"And leave the fleet defenseless in the next attack" Vahle snapped back. "We need to keep this in perspective."

"Admiral, please!" Tambralynne said, addressing Carr. Vahle blinked, briefly stunned by the idea of Tambralynne Kusarni, professional renegade, going over _his_ head.

Several more turbolasers struck _Fortitude_.

"Commander, we need to do whatever we can to keep as much of our crew alive as possible" Carr said. "That is what we do, and that is how we will win."

"We lose all our X-wings, and the next TIE swarm will tear use to shreds!" Vahle shouted. Several members of _Zama_'s bridge crew turned and looked at him, startled by the uncharacteristic outburst.

Vahle took a breath and straightened his posture. "We need to remember the big picture" he said, sternly. "We may be all that's left. The fate of the galaxy may rest on our ability to remain combat-effective."

There was brief silence. Two massive shots from _Supremacy_ slammed into the rear of the MC90 _Wisdom_, sending tremors and sparks throughout the ship.

"Permission to attack, Admiral?" Tambralynne asked.

"Permission-" began Carr.

"Permission to feint?" interrupted an unemotional, almost androgynous, voice.

"What?" Vahle asked, confused.

"This is Kappa 1 of Kappa Squadron" the voice replied. "Transferring from _Fortitude_ to _Zama_ as we speak."

"Yes, Kappa" Vahle replied, impatient. "Get in the hanger at once."

"Sir, with all due respect, the fleet needs some space, and we can give it to you."

Vahle was incredulous. "K-wings are too slow. You'd never make it back from an attack run. We need to hold onto you even more than we need the X-wings."

"That's true, Commander" Kappa 1 said. "But what about half of an attack run? Just go far enough to spook them, and then come right back."

"I-" Vahle started.

"Do it" Carr ordered. "Vega 1, make sure they have cover."

"Yes ma'am!" Tambralynne shouted, ending the transmission and hitting her thrusters. "All right, you lazy nerfherders, we are going in!"

"Copy that!" Vega 2 shouted. The X-wings and A-wings turned as one and rocketed towards the First Order ships.

Vahle looked into Carr's holographic eyes, a mix of emotions on his face.

"Leave no one behind" the Rodian said, before cutting the transmission.

Vahle sighed and leaned on his console. He noticed his hand trembling ever so slightly, and willed it to stop. This was already an 18-hour day, and still it showed no signs of ending.

"Are you alright, Commander?" asked Major Chur.

"No" Vahle snapped. "Now get me the hyperspace map!"

* * *

"Admiral, we have a Republic fighter swarm inbound. Target seems to be _Requiem_."

"They are desperate" Asardus replied. "Trying to reduce our fire on their capital ships. Prepare the anti-fighter turrets but continue the focus on the cruisers. With their big ships gone, a few X-wings will be easy to clean up."

"Sir, we're detecting K-wing bombers in the formation" someone else said.

"All in" Asardus muttered. Relatively slow and lacking hyperdrives, K-wing heavy bombers would never complete an attack run and make it back to their carriers in time. This was a suicide mission, the small units sacrificed so that the big ones could escape.

How positively Imperial of them.

Still, that was no reason to let them blow a big hole in her Star Destroyer during her moment of triumph. Suicidal attackers could be quite dangerous, after all, especially when they had proton torpedoes.

"Deploy the TIEs" she said. "Redirect a few batteries to suppress the bombers until our fighters get there. Keep _Supremacy_ focused on the capital ships."

The Republic bombers' sacrifice might force her to reduce her onslaught for a minute, but in the end, it wouldn't really matter.

There was only ever one way this day was going to end.

* * *

"I think they noticed us!" Draco 7 shouted as laser bursts from _Requiem_ exploded around her.

"What was your first clue?" asked Cetus 3.

"Continue to advance" ordered Kappa 1. "Maintain fire-evasion maneuvers."

"TIEs inbound."

"That's not news, Vega 2!" snapped Tambralynne. "Ignore them for now."

"Flak's getting heavy" Kappa 4 reported. _Requiem_ was, indeed, shifting more and more of its fire away from the fleet and towards the group. Which was the goal, of course, but that could only make them feel so happy.

"Keep it steady!" Tambralynne ordered, keeping a close eye on the TIE signatures on her scanner. Whoever was leading the TIEs had decided against the simple but suicidal head-on approach (which would sandwich the TIEs between the durable Republic fighters and their own ship's fire) to instead arc around to strike the flank. Ordinarily, it would be a good move, forcing the Republic fighters to either expose themselves or wave off their attack run on the Star Destroyer.

But that was only true if the attack run was real.

"Last _Fortitude_ shuttle is away" the flight director reported.

"Pull!" Carr ordered as _Ortanic_ cut its tractor beam, leaving the crippled _Fortitude_ adrift behind the fleet, where it would hopefully absorb some fire.

"Pull!" Tambralynne repeated, as did Kappa 1. All ships in the Republic formation immediately pulled up, hoping for the fastest turnaround possible as they bolted back towards the carriers.

"They are backing off" a bridge officer reported to Asardus.

"Don't give them the opportunity" she snapped. "Maximize fire on that bomber group! Shred them!"

_Requiem_'s guns shifted from the Republic fleet, turning their full attention to the K-wings and their escorts to exploit their vulnerable position and quite literally shoot them in the back. A turbolaser from _Requiem_ clipped Vega 3's side. The X-wing, already damaged from an earlier hit, disintegrated.

"We're getting shot up here!" Draco 7 shouted as an A-wing went down. Several other fighters shuddered from near-misses, shields-absorbed strikes and damaging but non-fatal shrapnel. An Eskie took a particularly bad hit, killing two gunners and sending flames venting from its rear ventral section, but the engines held together and kept the ship moving.

And then there were the TIEs. Denied their flanking opportunity, they decided to make up for it by running down their fleeing opponents, the TIE's superior speed allowing them to close in, even under fire from the Eskies.

"Stage 3 complete" said the flight controller.

"That's all well and good" Vahle snapped, "but my fighters are still getting torn up out there!"

The MC90 _Wisdom_ shuddered as it suffered another hard blow from the massive turbolasers of _Supremacy_.

"TIEs right on top of you, Vega 1" Vahle warned.

"I am aware, Top" Tambralynne grunted, her voice unusually tense. "Vega 2 and 3, Draco 7 and 8, break off with me and prepare to engage."

"3's down, Lead" Vega 2 cut in.

"Blast!" Tambralynne spat. "Cetus 3, you're with us. Everyone, just follow my lead!"

Tambralynne's X-wing veered away from the Republic formation, her four hastily chosen companions following. They dove straight at the line of TIEs.

"I don't care about kills, just break that formation and slow 'em down!" the Zeltron ordered. "Fire everything!"

Her wingmen did not hesitate, wildly firing lasers and torpedoes and mag-pulse rounds as TIE laser fire flew around them or bounced off their heavy frontal shields. The nerve of the lead TIEs finally cracked and they swooped to the right, hoping to strike a flank. Tambralynne pushed, chasing them further away from the rest of her squadron.

"It's working!" Draco 7 reported.

"I know that – now book it!" Tambralynne shouted, swinging around back towards the Republic fleet and closing her s-foils. Her four escorts did the same.

"Missiles, inbound!" Vega 2 shouted as the TIEs unleashed a wave of concussion missiles, trying to overwhelm their targets.

"Go, go, go!" Tambralynne yelled. The X-wings took whatever evasive maneuvers they could, which were not a lot.

A concussion missile exploded near Tambralynne, shaking her fighter but doing no damage. Another one exploded on the other side, then two above her and one narrow miss in front, raining shrapnel across her transparisteel canopy.

"My engine's shutting down!" Cetus 3 shouted, fire and smoke trailing from his X-wing's rear as it lost speed. A green laser bolt struck the X-wing's midsection, throwing up a shower of sparks as the craft disappeared behind Tambralynne, outside of her field of view.

"Cetus 3 is down" Draco 8 reported.

"Did they eject?" Tambralynne asked.

"Can't tell! I thin-" A laser struck the back of 8's craft, setting off a small explosion. The ship continued forward, wobbling as if it was uncontrolled.

"Draco 8? You alright, 8?" Tambralynne asked.

There was no reply.

"8? Are you-?"

"Bloody hell!" Draco 8 shouted, his damaged radio snapping back to life. "They shot my astromech clean off!"

"Better it than you" Tambralynne said. BR-17 gave a harsh beep of disapproval.

Two _Raider_-class corvettes appeared, firing their powerful anti-fighter lasers at the TIEs pursuing the X-wings. Unlike Fel Squadron, these First Order pilots did not seem especially interested in charging at dedicated anti-fighter craft and backed away.

"We got you, Vega 1" said the captain of one raider, _Reseus_.

"Glad to see it" Tambralynne replied. "Can one of you grab Draco 8? He's pretty shot up."

As Draco 8 hastily docked with the underside of _Reseus_, the three remaining X-wings raced past the stricken _Fortitude_, the carrier's unpowered, smoldering hulk no longer even providing target practice to Asardus's gunners, who had moved on to functional targets.

"See you 'round, _Fort_" Draco 7 muttered as she looked at her old home for the last time.

"Kappa Squadron is secure. All units hyperspace in 10" Admiral Carr reported.

"About damn time" Vega 2 muttered.

The X-wings fired up their hyperdrives, and the fleet jumped once again.


	8. Flight - Part 3

As the Eighth Mobile's flagship, _Zama_ possessed a larger hanger than it typically used, ensuring it free space to accommodate shuttles from high-ranking officials, representatives from planetary governments and any number of other situations that might arise in its mission to make the galaxy a better place.

Needless to say, the hanger was now packed to the gills with X-wings, shuttles and most of Kappa Squadron.

With _Alderaan Spirit_ largely filled hours earlier, it had been up to the rest of the fleet and especially _Zama_ to pick up the slack. Small craft were stacked everywhere in an arrangement that only resisted the description "haphazard" by the simple fact that every possible space was filled.

Commander Vahle took the sight in, intentionally focusing on his pride in his crew for managing the feat rather than the despair gnawing in his stomach at the series of events that had led to this point. He was alone for the moment, having left Major Chur on the bridge to perform her dozens of other tasks, and he found himself already missing her constant presence. She'd been a voice of clarity and reassurance today that he could sorely use right now.

Vahle snapped himself out of his thoughts and remembered why he had come to the hanger, walking over to a collection of K-wings literally piled on top of each other in a stack that would make a peacetime health and safety inspector jump out of an airlock.

"Fleet Commander" one of the K-wing pilots said, nodding. "Thanks for having us aboard."

"Our pleasure" Vahle said without really meaning it. "Where is your squadron leader?"

The pilot pointed to a helmeted individual in a standard blue flight suit, discussing something with several other pilots. As Vahle approached, those pilots saluted their leader and moved on to other things.

"Kappa 1?" Vahle asked.

"Yes, Fleet Commander Vahle" said the pilot, turning around. As they did so, they removed their helmet, revealing a shaved human head with dark brown skin and an androgynous face. More eye-catching was the black metal bar on the back of their head, on which a small colored light occasionally flickered.

"I am Flight Captain KE3-9" Kappa 1 said, enunciating the dash and extending a hand. "Kappa Squadron, Fourth Main Fleet."

Vahle shook the hand. "Good to meet you, Kay… Eee…"

"Most people use 'Keynine'" the squadron leader said, noticing Vahle stumbling on the name. "Much easier on the tongue."

"Fair enough" Vahle said. "How is your squadron, Captain Keynine?"

"We're intact, sir," Keynine said "thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of your fighters."

"It was a good idea to feint an attack" Vahle said. "That plan likely saved several of my pilots' lives."

"I'm glad we could help" Keynine said. "I saw an opportunity to break a deadlock and I suggested it."

"Quick decision making is vital," Vahle said, "especially in a war, which we seem to be in."

"Quick thinking is something I am very good at" Keynine replied, tapping the black bar on the back of their head. "Don't worry about it, everyone stares at first."

"Cybernetics?" Vahle asked. "Not very common in Republic space. At least not that sort."

"I'm not originally from Republic space" Keynine said, with a tone and speed that suggested this story had been told many times. "Corporate Sector. Parents indentured me to a company called ZenTech. Was augmented and raised to be a master data analyst for the company for life. Hence the serial number name. I know I could take a proper name now, but it never seemed worth the effort. Anyways, even the Corporate Sector Authority couldn't tolerate this sort of thing, at least not with the possibility of Republic sanctions, so ZenTech was shut down and my class adopted by various families."

"I must admit, bomber pilot was not the first career choice I would have expected from that" Vahle said.

Keynine patted the side of their K-wing. "I'm good with machines. I can talk to them, and they can talk back to me. With the right setup, I don't need a co-pilot, astromech or targeting computer."

"Very impressive" Vahle said. "Since Kappa Squadron is now attached to our fleet, I would ordinarily introduce you to your new CO, Wing Commander Kusarni, but circumstances you are well aware of have left her hyperspacing separately from us."

"Of course, Fleet Commander" Keynine said. "I look forward to meeting the Pink Maniac herself."

"The what?" Vahle asked, slightly startled.

"The Pink Maniac. That's what pilots call Commander Kusarni, at least in other fleets. Mechanics, too."

"Well then" Vahle said, finding himself more embarrassed than Kusarni was likely to be. In fact, she was probably going to love it. "Take your squadron to the barracks. Rooms have been assigned. Get some rest."

"Get some yourself, Commander" Keynine said as Vahle turned away.

Vahle's personal commlink beeped, and he answered it, a small hologram of a Comms officer from the bridge appearing in his hand.

"Commander Vahle? Call from Admiral Carr. She says it is urgent."

"Put it through."

"And private."

Vahle sighed. That couldn't be good.

* * *

"We can't keep this up" Admiral Carr said as Vahle sat down in his private quarters. Her hologram had the standard bluish tint, and Vahle had not known her well before today, but even still he could tell that she was exhausted. More than that, her entire demeanor had changed. She looked older, frailer.

Had this really only been a single day? Of course, in space a day could go on forever.

"We have sufficient hyperfuel" Vahle said. "Our ships are still capable of crossing the galaxy and back."

"Yes, they are, Commander. Except _Borhala_. And _Suleigh_. And _Fortitude_."

Vahle frowned. "Unfortunate casualties, all of them."

"I have lost so much of my fleet, Vahle" the admiral said. "If it was in a large battle for the good of the Republic, that would be one thing, but getting picked off like this, one by one, being shot in the back…"

She paused to refocus. Vahle didn't say anything.

"It is clear to me that we cannot escape in this manner. We have the fuel for many more jumps, but whenever we have to stop to cool our hyperdrives, they'll pick off another ship. We'll run another evacuation, crowding our survivors onto a smaller and smaller set of escape pods, with the margin for error going from slim to nothing, until our luck runs out and thousands of crewmen die."

Carr stared down at the floor and shook her head.

"We can't keep this up, Commander."

"What alternative do you suggest?" Vahle asked. "We can't surrender to the First Order. Not after what they've done. The galaxy needs someone to stand up and defend it, and that is our job. The Republic is counting on us."

It was silent for a moment. Then Carr said something that cut Vahle to his very core.

"What Republic?"

"What do you mean, 'What Republic'!?" Vahle exploded. "The New Republic! The one out there, with thousands of systems and billions of beings expecting _us_ to protect them! The Republic you and I and everyone in this fleet swore an oath to defend!"

"The Senate is gone" Carr said. "High Command dead. Home Fleet by all appearances destroyed. Sluis Van, Ithor and Nexus Ortai in enemy hands. What is left to fight?"

"You don't know that" Vahle said. "We are living proof that the First Order has not completely destroyed the Republic military. Other fleet elements may be intact, but scattered. And you know as well as I do that even Home Fleet was just a fraction of the Republic's true strength. With the planetary defense fleets mobilized, we can crush the First Order, or at least push them back long enough to start proper war production. _We can win this war_, Admiral, IF we don't lose it today."

"Who will give the mobilization order, Vahle?" Carr asked. "Senator Ro-Kiintor? He's already calling for surrender."

"We already decided that we could not trust his stand-down order."

"But how many others did? How are we supposed to get them to fight?"

"They will fight because it is the right thing to do" Vahle said. "Because it is the only thing to do."

"THEY HAVE A DEATH STAR, MARIUS!" Carr shouted. "Worse, some kind of long-distance Death Star. Emperor Palpatine's ultimate, rebellion-crushing weapon and they already have it. At the very least. What planetary government, let alone population, is going to fight back when they know they could be obliterated at any moment?"

"We'll destroy it" Vahle said, matter-of-factly.

"Are you even listening to yourself, Vahle?" Carr snapped. "Optimism is one thing, but that is simply magical thinking."

Vahle took a second to catalogue this moment as quite possibly the first time anyone had ever called him an optimist.

"We can't give up, Admiral. You said it yourself – that would be allowing a second Empire to be founded on our watch. We'd be complicit in everything they do."

"I know that" Carr said. "But we can't keep this up. If we keep running like this, our fleet is destroyed and nothing changes."

"You want to make a last stand?" Vahle asked.

"No." Carr shook her head. "That won't accomplish anything either. We could probably destroy that Star Destroyer, but that hardly seems like a war-winning achievement worth sacrificing two fleets for."

"Then what are you thinking?" Vahle asked. This was worrying. Clearly, Carr had made a decision before this call had even began, and, clearly, she knew he wasn't going to like it.

"I'm going to split the fleets, Vahle."

"What?" the commander snapped.

"At our next realspace drop, I am going to take _Wisdom_ and _Ortanic_ and flee in one direction, while you take Eighth Mobile, the Tibrin ships and our remaining corvettes and go in a different direction. Hopefully, the First Order will follow one of us and allow the other to escape."

"That is a bad idea, Admiral" Vahle said. "We stick together, we fight as one. That's how we do things in the Republic."

"That's not going to work here, Vahle. We simply do not have the ability to defeat that dreadnought, or to evade or outrun the hyperspace tracker. Our only choice to save the fleet is to convince them to go somewhere else. And for that, we need bait."

"Bait?"

"From what we can tell of the hyperspace tracking technology, larger ships have larger signatures. That is why _Zama_ was first able to detect the tracker waves bouncing off of _Wisdom_. Furthermore, it is clear that the First Order prioritizes our heavy capital ships over your smaller ships. Given the choice, I think they will pursue _Wisdom_ and _Ortanic_ rather than your fleet. Unfortunately, we need both, or the bait becomes too obvious."

"Isn't that all the more reason to keep our heavy ships? We're going to need something to take on these battlecruisers."

"But we do, Commander" Carr said, brightening up a little. "It is clear to me that the First Order misunderstands how wars are won."

"They seem to be doing a decent job so far" Vahle muttered to himself.

"Like the Empire before them, they believe that big ships bristling with turbolasers are the answer to everything. That is why they focus on our battleships, and that is why I believe they will target _Wisdom_ and _Ortanic_. At this moment, your ships contain the majority of our surviving fighter and bomber capabilities, as well as much of the surviving crew from our lost ships. You have the ability to fight a hit-and-run war and, more importantly, the foundation to rebuild our forces and keep the war going. But only if you can escape from them today."

"If that is what you believe, Admiral, then take the fleet. Lead that war. I'll take _Ortanic_."

"No" Carr said. "Eighth Mobile is your fleet, with your crew. You know them well and they respect you enough to follow you to the end. It would be unproductive for me to attempt to build such relationships from scratch in the middle of this crisis. Furthermore, I cannot in good conscience order the crews of _Ortanic_ and _Wisdom_ to do this unless I accompany them."

"So that's it, then?" Vahle asked. "You are sacrificing yourself so that I have to do all the hard work?"

Carr laughed, for just a moment. "Hopefully, this will not be a sacrifice at all. I still fully intend to run my ships as long and far as possible. Perhaps we will manage to give them the slip."

The Rodian was quiet for a minute.

"And there's absolutely no way I can talk you out of this?" Vahle asked.

"No" Carr said. "It is what needs to be done. My resolve is firm."

"What happened to 'Leave no one behind'?"

"You are not leaving anyone behind" Carr said. "At our next realspace stop, I will transfer all of the survivors we hold, our non-essential personnel and any crew members who wish to go to your fleet. I will only accept volunteers for my mission, obviously, but we need enough crew to keep the ships functioning. If we are easily destroyed, the First Order might still be able to pursue you."

"For such a bad idea, you have certainly put a lot of thought into it" Vahle remarked.

"Well, it is likely what I am going into the history holos for, so it had better work" Carr replied.

"If that is all, Admiral, I need to explain this foolhardy plan to my staff, so that we may prepare to take on even more of your crew."

"There is one other matter" Carr said, standing up and placing her hands behind her back.

"Fleet Commander Marius Alexsandr Vahle of the New Republic's Eighth Mobile Fleet. In light of your exemplary conduct under enemy fire and in recognition of the current, precarious situation, I am issuing you a field promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Republic Navy."

Vahle blinked. He had not expected this.

"Obviously, we are unable to engage in the standard formalities, but I am certain you understand, Admiral Vahle."

Vahle swallowed, then straightened his posture.

"I decline" he said.

"What?"

"I decline the promotion. I will retain the rank of Fleet Commander for the time being."

"Why, may I ask?"

"With all due respect, Admiral Carr, under the current conditions, the rank provides no benefit or additional authority. I will gladly accept the rank of Rear Admiral, when a Senate-appointed military command gives it to me, following the proper protocols for promotion."

Carr looked confused.

"It is silly, I know" Vahle said. "This is a perfectly reasonable situation for a field promotion. But sticking to the ordinary promotion procedures gives me a little sliver of the peacetime Republic to hold onto."

Carr smiled. "You are right. It is silly. But stubbornness is about to become your most important quality, Commander Vahle, so I better cultivate it for as long as I am able to."

The Rodian stood up.

"We'll see each other again, Commander. You must believe that."

Vahle didn't, but he didn't say anything.

"May the Force be with you" the admiral said.

"As the stars burn…" Vahle replied, saluting.

Carr stared into his eyes, as much as she could through a hologram, and returned his salute.

"…liberty endures" she finished.

* * *

The most shocking thing was how anti-climactic it all felt.

The fleet emerged from hyperspace, as they had done so many times before. _Ortanic_ and _Wisdom_ released one wave of shuttlecraft and escape pods, transferring everyone Carr deemed 'nonessential' to the Eighth Mobile. It was a lot of escape pods, quickly emptied and tossed back into space for the gunners to blast (didn't want to give the First Order a clue they'd evacuated a ship, after all), but Carr's ships weren't going to need very many at this point.

"This is crazy" said Tambralynne, hopping out of her X-wing, which she had artfully landed directly on top of a parked U-wing.

"Admiral's orders" said Suzan Tuada, the Karkarodon mechanic, as she helped the Zeltron down. "Who's going to argue with that?"

"Vahle" Tambralynne said. "This isn't his style. Feels too much like giving up."

Tuada caught BR-17 as it jumped off of the U-wing roof. The droid beeped in approval. "The commander tried. Didn't work. Which means that either Carr is dead-set on this approach, or it really is the only way."

"Doesn't feel right" Tambralynne muttered.

"That's not our job to decide" Tuada said.

"Yeah, yeah, you just hate to see someone above you making a stupid decision that _you_ have to live with."

"Your wingmen say the same thing all the time" Tuada said, walking away. "Oh yeah, that guy wanted to see you."

She pointed at a dark-skinned human with a blinking metal box on the back of their head. Tambralynne walked over.

"Commander Kusarni?" the pilot asked, holding out a hand.

"Who's asking?"

"Flight Captain Keynine, ma'am. I report to you now."

Tambralynne smiled and shook the captain's hand. "Kappa Squadron, eh? Your pilots blow things up real good?"

"We blow them up excellent, ma'am" Keynine said, without missing a beat. Tambralynne's reputation for quirkiness proceeded her.

"That is a skill that never goes out of style" the Zeltron said, tapping Keynine's nose with her finger, but failing to get even a flinch. "And trust me, we've got a lot of First Order ships to slag."

"I look forward to the opportunity, Commander."

"Libra 1's going to hate having you around, you know. You make B-wings look obsolete."

"I'm sure they'll be of plenty of use, ma'am."

"Wow. Diplomatic too." Tambralynne pretended to swoon. "You really have everything a commander could want."

"We try, ma'am" Keynine said.

"Don't you know, Captain? 'Do or do not. There is no try.'"

"Where did you hear that, Commander?" Keynine asked, revealing the first hint of puzzlement in the entire exchange.

"Lottery commercial" Tambralynne replied. "Thought it was catchy."

She waved Keynine towards an interior hanger door. "Come on. I heard Vahle was planning something special."

* * *

Lieutenant Aldon Daniels had not expected to be called up at this point. It had been made pretty clear hours ago that this crisis was one for the ship crews and starfighter pilots, not the ground troops.

Still, he and the rest of Nova Team marched to their assigned corridor, followed by a platoon of army troopers. A line of off-duty _Zama_ ship crew appeared from the other direction. The soldiers didn't have their weapons, and many of them had not even brought their helmets. They weren't going to need any of them.

_It's probably better to pretend to do something than to do nothing_ Daniels thought. _Make it all feel less hopeless_. He had been handling the situation pretty well by himself, but Shade had nearly driven the rest of the fireteam crazy trying to make conversation. 'Nerves' he said. Weren't Umbarans supposed to be quiet, loner sorts?

"Halt!" Colonel Tallion shouted. The column stopped and turned to face the nearest window. Floating in the endless void of stars were most of the surviving ships of the combined fleet, a sight the ground troops rarely saw.

"Never seen a Starhawk in person before" Nexyl muttered.

"Better get a good look now, kid" replied Noarh. "Probably your last chance."

Silently, Commander Vahle appeared, filing into the line. He could have done this on the bridge, of course. But it felt better to do it down here, with his enlisted crew. The people, not him, who were really going to decide if the Republic survived.

"Attention!" Tallion shouted.

On cue, the soldiers and crewmen saluted as one. All throughout the fleet, from _Certainty_ to the damaged _Alderaan Spirit_, even on the Tibrinese ships, every ground soldier and unoccupied crewman stood by their nearest window and saluted.

Vahle knew it was silly. Carr and her crew couldn't even see the salute. But it was the proper thing to do, and it would drill into the personnel the gravity of the sacrifice the crews of _Wisdom_ and _Ortanic_ were making, as well as the burden now resting on each one of their shoulders.

The burden to be worth this.

The burden to make this sacrifice count.

The burden to win.

Vahle raised his own salute.

"May the Force be with you, Fourth Main" he said.

_Wisdom_ and _Ortanic_ stretched and disappeared into hyperspace. A moment later, _Zama_ jumped as well. No sense in sticking around for Asardus to show up.

* * *

Soon enough, Asardus showed up.

"No targets on scope, Admiral" said a lieutenant as the admiral scanned the sea of stars outside her viewport. "They must have jumped again right away."

"Yet they remain on the tracker?" Asardus asked.

"Yes, sir."

Asardus sighed. This really was getting old.

"Calculate the necessary vector and jump when ready."

"Yes, sir."

As frustrated as Asardus was, she couldn't complain too much. Word had just come through that the Resistance's home base had been found. By the end of the day, Leia Organa would be as dead as the Republic she had built.

All that remained between the First Order and victory was Admiral Carr and Commander Vahle.

"Admiral, there is an anomaly in the tracking telemetry" an officer reported.

"What do you mean?" Asardus snapped.

"It appears the Republic fleet has split in two. They are hyperspacing in different directions."

Asardus bit her lip. Not an unpredictable strategy, but unexpected at this late stage.

"What can you tell about the two groups?" she demanded. What she decided here would probably decide how history would remember her.

"It is difficult to tell with any precision, Admiral, but one group appears to be a pair of large masses, while the other is a smattering of smaller ships."

"The Starhawk and the Mon Cala cruiser were their two largest surviving ships" Asardus said.

"Yes, sir. It seems reasonable to conclude that they compose the first group."

"Trying to save a scrap of their fleet rather than fight it out" Asardus muttered. "Pathetic."

"Vector _Supremacy_ to intercept the first group" she ordered. "_Requiem_ will pursue the second."

"Is that wise, Admiral?" the officer asked. "We will be engaging without our fire superiority."

"You are standing in a precision-engineered instrument of fire superiority, Lieutenant!" Asardus snapped. "We have been tasked with the destruction of this fleet by the Supreme Leader himself, and I will not allow a speck of it to escape. Send the instructions!"

"Of course, Admiral."

* * *

Back on the bridge of _Zama_, Vahle, Chur, Tambralynne, Keynine and several more officers than there really should be were crowded around the Sensors station.

The red dot was on the move again.

No one said anything. No one really thought that saying anything would affect the outcome, but neither were they willing to take any chances.

"The ping source is shifting" the lead Sensors officer said. "It… it looks like they are diverting."

A cheer broke out. _Finally_, something that day had gone their way.

Vahle didn't say anything, but he took a moment to honor Carr's sacrifice. The First Order was taking her bait.

"You know," Tambralynne said "I really didn't think this was going to work."

"Second ping source detected" said the Sensors officer. "It is on our vector."

Everyone glared at Tambralynne.

"Huh" the Zeltron remarked. "I usually love being right."

* * *

"_They did what?_" Captain Tellea demanded.

"It appears they have split their own forces to counter our maneuver" Vahle reported.

Muttering rippled through the council of hologram captains.

"They really want this fleet" Captain Grel of _Certainty_ said, his voice slightly muffled by his Kel Dor breathing mask.

"Well, they can't have it" Chief Dorath said. Though the Bothan was not the captain of _Alderaan Spirit_, it was hard to deny that he was in charge of it. "What do you want us to do, Commander?"

"Why are you asking him? None of his schemes have worked so far!" Tellea shouted.

"For now, we keep running" Vahle said, ignoring the Ishi Tib. "When we next drop into realspace, we'll prepare another jump and hang around long enough to see which ship is following us. Whether that super dreadnought is behind us or not makes a big difference."

"Does it now?" Tellea said. "We seem to be doomed either way."

"I will inform you when we have our next steps" Vahle said. "Dismissed."

As the holograms winked out, Vahle told himself once again not to be too hard on Tellea. The Tibrin Defense Fleet had assigned his ships to help Eighth Mobile resolve a kidnapping. He was not trained nor prepared to fight a losing war against an overwhelming adversary.

_Though the same could be said about all of us_ Vahle thought.

"No luck so far on the 'jam the hyperspace tracker' plan" Chur said. "The simulations are still going, but it is going to take days at the very least, assuming that they find anything at all."

"We are running out of options" Vahle said. "If that dreadnought is still behind us, we will need to split the fleet again."

"That won't give the surviving half very much to work with" Chur said.

"By definition it is not ideal" Vahle replied. "Run some scenarios, see what split options make sense. We want whichever half survives to have the ability to do _something_ in the war."

"Of course, Commander" the Pantoran said, making a note on her datapad. "It's a good thing I don't sleep. But you should. It's been a long day."

"I'll sleep when this fleet is safe" Vahle said.

"If you say so, sir."

* * *

Another hour, another drop back into realspace. This stop was actually on a map, a minor hyperspace route beacon. No one was likely to be around (and, by all appearances, they were not), but its connection to a genuine mapped hyperspace route meant that the fleet could not only line up a longer safe hyperspace jump than in their earlier off-route skipping, but they could calculate most of the route before they even returned to realspace, instead of making it up when they arrived.

As a result, the fleet lined up their new jump several minutes before the First Order appeared, which would have been great if not for the fact that leads were largely meaningless against hyperspace tracking and that, for once, they actually _wanted_ to see the First Order.

Vahle sat at his console, staring out the window into the empty depths of space. Faint stars twinkled, utterly uncaring of the disaster that had befallen the galaxy that day. Vahle realized that most of the starlight he could now see not only predated this war, but likely the fall of the original Republic itself. He had once wondered what it felt like to live in such historic times.

No longer.

"Hey, Boss" said Tallion, sitting next to him.

"What are you doing here, Colonel?" he asked.

"Nothing better to do" the Trandoshan replied. "Until you tell us to board them, or they try to board us, my troops and I are pretty useless, mass salutes aside."

She turned, her reptilian yellow eyes trying to line up with his.

"So I thought I'd see how you were doing."

"Oh, terrible" Vahle replied, continuing to stare into space. "Everything I have worked for for my entire adult life is being destroyed, billions of people are dead, tyranny is overtaking the galaxy and I have to figure out how to do something about it without getting my entire fleet killed."

"Is that all?" Tallion asked. "You've handled worse."

"I absolutely have not!" Vahle shot back with uncharacteristic emotion.

"You've handled pretty bad" Tallion corrected. "You nabbed Loc Bei and got us out of an ambush at Tren Roq _today_. Not to mention all the other messes you've guided this fleet through over the years, from Point Bisma to Iwwi-Alger. You might not realize this, Commander, but the crew of this fleet completely trust you and that brain of yours. They know you'll find a way out of this."

"Wonderful. More pressure to add to the pile."

"Diamonds are made under pressure" Tallion said.

"You never struck me as the diamond type" Vahle remarked.

"I'm not" Tallion replied. "I just don't have any better metaphors."

A First Order _Resurgent_-class Star Destroyer popped into existence.

"Oh, good, an enemy battlecruiser" Vahle said in mock excitement. "Execute the jump as soon as the scans are done."

"Thirty seconds, Commander" replied Sensors.

"Incoming transmission" Comms reported. "It is from the enemy vessel."

"Put it through" Vahle said, standing up. "Better see what she has to say."

A hologram of Dido Asardus sprang into being above Vahle's console.

"Ah, Commander Vahle" she said. "I thought you would be in charge of this motley group."

"What do you want, Asardus?" Vahle asked. There was a time when he would have engaged in the ritual exchange of faux pleasantries with the admiral, but that time was at least several hours ago, and he was frustrated, tired and _very _close to hyperspacing out of there.

"I will cut straight to the point, Commander" Asardus said. "I am asking for the surrender of your fleet and crew."

"You didn't seem that interested before" Vahle responded.

"My task, Commander Vahle, was to neutralize any Republic fleet that evaded our initial operations. I have done so. All of your capital ships are gone, what is left overcrowded with homeless survivors. Your ability to resist us is minimal, and we both know it."

"Sir, the scans are complete" Sensors said. "Should we jump?"

"Is the enemy ship in weapons range?" Vahle asked.

"Doesn't look like it" the officer replied.

"Hold off for thirty more seconds" Vahle said.

"I know of Admiral Carr" Asardus continued. "She is a Rebel diehard, through and through. She would never give in to the likes of us, and will fight on until every member of her crew is reduced to dust."

Asardus leaned forward.

"But you're not like that, are you Commander? You're no fanatic. You're a reasonable man."

Vahle said nothing.

"I have looked over your file, Commander. You are Anaxi, a people famous for their devotion to duty. Duty not only to their planet and their nation, but to their subordinates as well."

"Do we jump, sir?" Helm asked.

"Hold until my mark" Vahle responded.

"This devotion served your ancestors well in the old Republic, and in the New Order as well" Asardus continued. "They fought with honor, and understood that pointlessly sacrificing the lives of others was the mark of a poor commander _and_ a poor man."

Vahle resisted the urge to make a quip about the original TIE program.

"I am not from such a prestigious background, Commander. But I swear to you, Marius Vahle, on what honor I do possess, that if you surrender to me now, your crew will be fairly treated. If the war is as short as it appears to be, they could be released and returned to their homeworlds and families within weeks, once they pledge allegiance to the restored state."

Vahle glanced around the bridge, taking in the faces of each and every crew member. Some he had known for years; a few had been picked up just two months ago. They were young, old, some married, some not, with at least twelve different species and thirty different sectors represented. Vahle had always been very proud of that. When he looked around his bridge, he saw the people of the galaxy, and saw the galaxy as it should be – many different people from many different worlds all working together to try and make things better.

That was what the New Republic was, even at its lowest and most polarized and paralyzed. Could that possibly be what a First Order-ruled galaxy looked like?

"What are the First Order's intentions in the galaxy?" Vahle asked.

"To restore rightful, competent government" Asardus replied. "Fear not. We are not resetting the clock to before Endor. We have been strengthened by the hardship of our exile to the Unknown Regions. We have learned and improved and made ourselves worthy to rule, whereas before we allowed corruption and treachery and greed among our ranks to weaken our standing with the people. We will not repeat the mistakes of our forebearers."

"A better Empire" said Tallion, speaking for the first time.

"A better galaxy" Asardus corrected. "We're not barbarians, Commander, or petty warlords like Zsinj or Rax. We want to give the people peace, prosperity and security just like you do."

She extended a holographic hand.

"Help me make this galaxy a better place, Marius. Do what's right for the people, and your crew."

Vahle thought about it. He really did. She was right about what it meant to be Anaxi, what his culture taught about duty. He did have a duty to his crew, and also to the refugee crewmen from Fourth Main that he now led. It was his duty to take their well-being into account.

But they had a duty as well, and part of his duty was to guide them to the fulfillment of that duty.

A duty to the people.

Vahle thought about Admiral Carr, and the sacrifice she had made for them. It seemed to have opened up this surrender offer. Was that enough justification to take it, and ignore her final, impossible order to fight an unwinnable war until the end?

_Would a restored Galactic Empire be so bad?_ his tired brain wondered. The original had had many positive qualities before it smothered itself in waste, violence and megalomania. Stability after the galaxy's greatest crisis in hundreds of years. The offer of a sense of purpose for many of the galaxy's downtrodden. The ability to act decisively. A golden age of technological advancement not seen in centuries. If the First Order really had learned from its mistakes, could it be what the galaxy needed?

A number of frontier governments swore that the First Order had provided them with greater security, law enforcement and stability than any galactic government ever had. Vahle had always dismissed those claims, but what if they had been true?

Vahle thought of every time the Senate had caused him headaches, from budget fights to the post-Iwwi-Alger hearings to overly strict rules of engagement and the shameful business surrounding Leia Organa. How many times had he wished, if only briefly, that the Senate would go away and let him do his job?

And then he thought of something else.

8.9 billion.

He didn't know why he knew that. Presumably some tourist-aimed audio had been playing in the background at some point in his career, and he'd picked it up. But he knew the number, and after today he would never forget it.

8.9 billion was the sentient population of the Hosian system.

A system whose planets were almost certainly destroyed that very day.

8.9 billion innocent people, just living their lives, suddenly ended by a force beyond their control. By no fault of their own.

He had a duty to them as well.

'Peace, prosperity and security' indeed.

"Mark" Vahle said. The stars stretched as his fleet disappeared into hyperspace.

"A pity" Asardus said as her hologram flickered. "I had hoped you had more sense."

"Your argument is compelling" Vahle replied. "But it would be remiss of me not to consult my captains before deciding the course of the rest of their lives. I hope you understand."

Dealing with politicians had made him _very_ good at creating excuses.

Asardus sighed. "My offer still stands, Commander. But I am not endlessly patient."

_Neither am I_ Vahle thought as the hologram winked out.

"Not buying the 'better Empire' line, Vahle?" Tallion asked.

"Felt like more of the same to me" the commander replied. "Now let's find a way out of this mess."

* * *

Vahle had the good sense to mute Captain Tellea's hologram before he shared the news.

"Do you think she's serious?" Captain Grel asked, looking around the collection of holograms surrounding the conference table. Vahle, Chur and Tallion were there in person.

"She's not exactly trustworthy, but I think so" Vahle replied, ignoring the somewhat comical image of an enraged but silenced Tellea flailing about. "At a minimum, I don't think she plans to shoot us the second we give up."

"But after that?" Grel asked.

"I can't say. I've never seen any evidence of humane prisoner treatment by the First Order."

"Still, it could be better than ending today dead in the vacuum of space, right?" asked Libra 1.

"No" said Tambralynne, Chief Dorath and Altair 1 at the same time. Keynine gave a "possibly" and Tallion just grunted.

"Literally no one ever has enjoyed surrendering" Vahle said, putting his degree in military history to good use. "By definition, it nothing more than the lesser of two evils. But we are in a LOT of trouble."

"I don't care" Dorath said. "There's a lot of people out there in a lot worse trouble than we are, and there's going to be more every day until someone takes care of these Imperial scum."

"One step at a time there, Dorath" Vahle said. "But I am _very _open to suggestions."

There was silence for a few moments.

"Attack!" Tambralynne suggested.

"Not our worst option" Captain Grel said. "As Ackbar once said, 'to escape a shark's mouth, strike it in the eye.'"

"And charge our bombers into that thing's anti-fighter guns?" Dorath asked. "We've seen what it's capable of. With its TIEs backing it up, it could cost us an awful lot of pilots before they've even closed the distance."

"I agree" said Draco 3, the acting leader of the mauled squadron. "We're at the breaking point as it is, and even if we weren't, the Star Destroyer might decide to destroy the rest of the fleet while we're heading over there."

"I'm not against kicking the First Order in the teeth, Vega 1," Vahle said "but we need the plan _before_ we commit, not after. Got it?"

Tambralynne sighed and nodded.

"I'm also not against simply escaping to fight another day" Vahle added. "But we've had little success on that front. Obviously."

"Still no luck on the tracker jamming plan" Major Chur reported. "It's not looking promising."

"We're not likely to get out of this until we find a way to disable that tracker" Vahle said.

Tambralynne opened her mouth to say something.

"Yes, an attack might be able to disable it" Vahle said, already confident of what she was going to say. "But right now we don't have good idea how to do that without substantial casualties. I need every neural cell we have available working on options to do that."

"Our crews and staff are exhausted" Captain Grel said.

"I am well aware" Vahle replied. "Try to use this long jump as an opportunity to get them some rest."

Most of the holograms and all of those physically present looked directly at Vahle.

"I will attempt to rest as well" he said, almost as tired of people saying it as he was actually tired.

Vahle pushed a button, unmuting Captain Tellea, who seemed to have calmed down.

"Captain Tellea. It seems there was a glitch with your transmission. I-"

"Don't play dumb with me, _Commander_" the Ishi Tib snarled. "Your view of my opinion is abundantly clear."

Vahle thought it better not to say anything as Tellea turned to the rest of the conference.

"None of you have the slightest desire to survive this, do you?" he asked.

"On the contrary, Captain," Grel said. "The survival of this fleet is of paramount importance to everyone here."

"Well, that is wonderful!" Tellea said in mock excitement. "Would any of you be so kind as to fill me in on the plan to do it, now that you've decided against surrendering?"

Vahle didn't say anything. Neither did anyone else.

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Tellea sneered.

"We are working on-" Chur started, but Tellea cut her off.

"All you have is a _wish_, Commander Vahle. You _wish_ to escape, or to defeat the First Order, or to salvage your Republic from the likely fatal blow it has taken today. But it's simply that – a wish. You have no way to turn it into reality, no matter how hard you try. An iron ball will sink no matter what you want it to do. Must I be the only rational one here?"

"I'd rather if you weren't" Tallion muttered.

"I will make this simple for all of you" Tellea declared. "If we do not take the admiral's offer of surrender, we are all dead, and that will do the galaxy EXACTLY as much good as if we surrendered. That is a _fact_, Commander Vahle, like gravity or math or hair on a Wookiee. It is a fact and nothing more."

No one said anything.

"Well, it seems I will need to be the decisive one here and actually show some leadership" Tellea said. "At the moment, we expect to be in hyperspace for another five hours. If you do not have a satisfactory plan for our survival by then, I will be forced, for the good of my crew, to accept the First Order's offer, whether you do or not."

"Coward" Tambralynne spat.

"What was that?" Tellea demanded.

"Nothing" Tambralynne said. "I just described a man who isn't willing to fight for the freedom of his homeworld. Just a fact, nothing more."

"You insolent child!" Tellea exploded. "Do you have even the slightest idea how ridiculous that is!? How offensive that is? Why, if I was there in person, I'd be forced to…"

Vahle was quite happy that Tellea and Tambralynne were _not_ there in person, though he sensed Tallion, Dorath and most of the pilots wished that they were so they could see Tambralynne sock him in the beak.

"Knock it off, Kusarni" the commander ordered, sending a withering glare her way. Tambralynne saw it and her smile shrank a bit. Vahle didn't use that tone with her unless he really meant it.

"This meeting is adjourned" Vahle said. "Captain Tellea, we will take your assertions into consideration."

"What is there to consider?" Tellea said. "I have given you the facts."

"You have given us your interpretation of the facts" Vahle replied. "We will compare it with our own interpretations and see what develops."

Tellea started to say something, but decided against it and nodded.

"Point goes to Vahle!" Tambralynne cheered, her smile returning. "Commander 1, Coward-"

"Tambralynne…" Vahle started.

"This is all a game to you, isn't it, pilot!?" Tellea spat at the same time.

The Zeltron flinched.

The Ishi Tib smiled slightly, sensing that he had hit upon something. "That's it, isn't it? This entire, desperate scenario is just another war game to you. A race to be flown, skill and luck to be tested, victory to be parceled out to the best and then everyone goes home. You can't accept that you've _lost_, and now your crew and mine has to suffer for it."

"That is not true!" Tambralynne sputtered. "I have lost good pilots today!"

"And you are planning to lose even more!" Tellea countered. "All of them, in fact! That might be acceptable to a hotshot like you, but I cannot sacrifice the hundreds of Ishi Tib on this ship to appease my own ego! I will not allow you to do so either!"

"He has a point" Draco 3 said.

"It's true" Libra agreed.

"The logic, however regrettable, is there" nodded Grel.

Vahle put a hand to his brow.

"This meeting is _adjourned_" he said, as forcefully as he could muster. "We will reconvene in four hours."

Before anyone could agree or disagree, the commander turned off the holograms, stood up and walked out of the room.

* * *

"Well, that was a mess" Tallion said.

"Thank you for your observation, Colonel" Vahle said dryly as they walked down a hallway, Major Chur close behind. "I always appreciate your insight."

Tallion blinked in surprise, then frowned. It sounded like Vahle was really on edge, and that meant they were in serious trouble.

"What can I do to help, sir?" the Trandoshan asked.

"Figure out a way out of this mess" Vahle said.

"I- That's not my field" Tallion stammered. "I'm a ground commander."

"I DON'T CARE!" Vahle exploded. "Someone has to or we're all dead, and the Republic with us!"

Tallion and Chur both stared at the commander. They'd never seen anything like this from him.

Vahle sighed. "My deepest apologies, Colonel. That was inappropriate. Your offer to help is greatly appreciated, as are all of your many contributions to this fleet and the Republic."

He turned around, cheeks flushed red for the first time in probably years. "I am going to my quarters to rest. I ask not to be disturbed. Major Chur, you know what to do in the meantime."

"O-of course, sir" Chur said as Vahle walked off. She wasn't even sure if he'd heard her.

They were in serious trouble indeed.

* * *

Marius Vahle entered his quarters, locked the door, removed his jacket and immediately fell onto his bed. He lay there for a few seconds before he realized the lights were still on and he scrambled for the remote to turn them off.

Finally, _finally_, he was able to close his eyes. After such a long day, so many hours of failure and despair, he could listen to his body and simply let it all…

There was a knock on the door.

"_What?_" Vahle snapped with more venom than he had ever placed into a single syllable.

"Top, it's Kusarni" said a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"Kusarni, I am starting to think that I need to have you thrown off of something."

"Probably, sir. I'll come back later."

Vahle picked up his remote and unlocked the door, leaving the lights off.

"What is it, Vega 1?"

Tambralynne appeared at the door, her sheepishness evident even through the darkness.

"I wanted to apologize, Commander, for my earlier behavior. I will be sending an apology to Captain Tellea as well."

"Kusarni, I appreciate you including me in this historic moment, but I really would rather you do it three hours from now."

"Of course, sir. This was rude and dumb of me."

"Self-reflection?" Vahle muttered, keeping his eyes closed and face towards the wall. "This really is a historic day for you."

Tambralynne gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Had to start sometime. I can't be a hotshot flygirl forever."

"Now who tells Tambralynne Kusarni what she can't do?" Vahle said. "More importantly, where can I meet this person and learn their secrets?"

The Zeltron scoffed. "I'm not _that-_"

"You are."

"I am."

Tambralynne sighed. "I'm just sorry that I can't find you a way out of this mess. That's my thing, right? Concocting crazy plans to get out of terrible situations? But I'm not half as clever as everything thinks I am. All I know how to do is attack. Even when I've got an enemy fighter right behind me, I don't think about how to defend myself – I think about how I can attack them."

"That sounds like you" Vahle said. "Always for the offense even when in the hardest position to strike from."

"It really isn't, sir" Tambralynne said. "I know everyone says an enemy fighter behind you is super-difficult to counterattack so you should focus on evasion, but that's precisely why it is possible. An enemy's always weakest to the unexpected when they think they have the advantage."

Vahle yawned. "Commander Kusarni, while I appreciate your attempt at self-improvement, you have full access to the fleet's licensed therapist, who is not only better trained for this than I, but also lacks the authority to have you shot. I suggest you use it."

"Of course, Commander" Tambralynne said. "Have a nice nap."

"I'm doubting it" Vahle muttered as Tambralynne backed into the hall and closed the door. The fleet commander breathed a sigh of relief and let his tired thoughts overtake him.

* * *

He'd intended to rest, he really had, but even in his sleep, his brain couldn't stop cycling through the day, looking for solutions. Shattered snippets of voices echoed throughout his synapses, arguing even in the depths of his subconscious.

_'The Republic is dead.'_

_'You are Anaxi, a people famous for their devotion to duty.'_

_'We will not repeat the mistakes of our forebearers.'_

_'We have burned away our weakness. We have made ourselves strong.'_

_'We're ready for some payback, sir'_

_'They know you'll find a way out of this.'_

_'Stubbornness is about to become your most important quality.'_

_'To escape a shark's mouth, strike it in the eye.'_

_'With its TIEs backing it up, it could cost us an awful lot of pilots before they've even closed the distance.'_

_'Tambralynne Kusarni never fails. She just wins more creatively than others.'_

_'It was an ambush. You wanted to face our forces away from our naval bases, on your terms.'_

_'It is clear that the First Order prioritizes our heavy capital ships over your smaller ships.'_

_'So I doubt we are more than blips on their screen.' _

_'An enemy's always weakest to the unexpected when they think they have the advantage.'_

_'Is that not how you Mobile Fleets are supposed to operate? We bring you a problem, loan you our forces and your specialists handle the rest?'_

_'It is difficult to do safely, Captain, but I assure you that Republic ships are designed with this capability in mind. We undergo training and practice precisely for such circumstances.'_

_'Yes, we normally use this technology to stop foes from running away from us. But that doesn't mean that it can't work to help _us_ run away from _them_.'_

_'We'll see each other again, Commander. You must believe that'_

Vahle's eyes shot open.

"_Certainty_" he whispered.

The commander shot out of bed, fumbling around for his remote to turn the lights on. He winced at the brightness but powered on through it, slipping on his shoes and grabbing his jacket and personal commlink.

"Chur, it's Vahle" he said into the commlink as he went out the door. "Reassemble the captains."

"Sir, what are-"

Vahle closed the connection. He was running through the halls now, propelled by a manic energy acquired from who knows where. As he turned the corner, he almost bumped into Tambralynne, walking slowly from the area. Had he only been asleep a minute? He didn't know, and he didn't care.

"Vahle?" Kusarni shouted with a level of surprise that was unusual for her. "What's wrong?"

"Suit up, Vega 1!" Vahle said as he dashed past, his hair a mess and his jacket still in his hand. "You are getting your counterattack!"

That was all Tambralynne Kusarni needed to hear.

* * *

"What is this all about?" Captain Tellea demanded the instant his hologram appeared over the table.

"You wanted a way out of this situation, Captain, and I've got one for you" Vahle replied, finishing up a rough holographic animation to explain his plan.

"Well in that case, I am _all_ ears, Commander" Tellea said, his tone suggesting a low degree of confidence.

"One second, Captain" Vahle said, taking a moment to straighten his hastily-donned jacket. If any other Marius Vahle from any other day of his life could see him now, they would be mortified.

"_Certainty_ reporting in" said Milap Grel as his hologram materialized.

"Good to see you, Captain Grel" Vahle said. "How would you like to save the Republic?"

"I will see if I can work it into my schedule" the Kel Dor replied.

"Your jokes are most inappropriate, Commander" Tellea said. "I think that-"

Vahle cut him off. "Alright, people. The only way we're getting out of this is if we disable the First Order's tracking system, and the only way we're doing that is if we attack Asardus's Star Destroyer."

"But-" Chief Dorath started.

"But the Star Destroyer's anti-fighter defenses and fighter wings make that a difficult prospect" Vahle continued. "In order to succeed without crippling casualties, we need to hit them when they will not expect it."

"But they know exactly where we are" Keynine said. "Any move that gets us in range, even another hard cut, will alert them, and they'll drop out of hyperspace ready to fight."

"Which is why they won't be dropping out of hyperspace" Vahle said.

Most of the room looked confused. In-hyperspace combat was even more impossible than hyperspace tracking was supposed to be.

"We are going to _pull them_ out of hyperspace when they don't expect it" the commander explained.

"_Certainty_" Dorath said.

"That's right." Vahle activated his holographic animation, a crude affair of roughly proportionally-sized triangles. But it got the point across. "What we're going to do is perform another hard cut, launch our X-wings and B-wings and deploy _Certainty_'s interdiction field. We know what direction they are coming from and where the field is, so we'll know exactly where they will return to realspace – while they won't know they're coming out at all."

"Won't they see that we've performed the hard cut?" Major Chur asked. "They did last time, with enough warning to respond."

"Not if they are following our bait" Vahle said.

"Bait?" Libra 1 asked.

"Yes" Vahle said. "Captain Tellea's ships."

"Now hold on a minute there, Vahle!" Tellea snarled. "I don't know what you are playing at…"

"Then listen" Vahle said, matter-of-factly. "The hyperspace tracker is most effective against large ships. Your two cruisers are among our largest remaining ships, and your crews lack the ability to perform hard cut maneuvers. When we drop out of hyperspace, your ships will continue onwards towards our original jump destination. With your relatively large tracker signals, this will hopefully confuse the First Order long enough for them to hit our interdiction field, and we'll take care of the rest."

"Will that work?" Keynine asked.

"I can't be certain, but it doesn't have to confuse them for very long. As soon as they hit our interdiction field, the X- and B-wings will charge and try to blow out their hangers. Cripple those and they'll be no fighter resistance as we destroy their transmission capabilities and escape. Captain Tellea, we can give you rendezvous coordinates, or you may make your return to Tibrin on your own. Whichever you prefer."

There was silence for a minute.

"Will it work?" Altair 1 asked.

More silence.

"Have we developed anything better while I was away?" Vahle asked.

More silence.

"You are many things, Marius Vahle," said Captain Grel, "but one thing you are not is reckless. If you are proposing a bold plan, I believe it is because it is the only way you can see to get it done."

"Seconded" said Chief Dorath.

"No complaints here" said Tambralynne.

Draco 3 frowned for a minute. "Alright, we'll give it a shot."

"This seems unwise to me" Captain Tellea said. "You are charging at a foe who massively outguns you, and for what? The chance to be hunted throughout the galaxy?"

The Ishi Tib clicked his beak.

"But, succeed or fail, it does allow my crew to return to Tibrin, and I appreciate that."

Vahle was glad that he didn't have to point out that Tellea had literally no control over whether or not the rest of the fleet executed the plan. It would have been rude.

"I hope you do not misunderstand, Commander Vahle" Tellea said. "I am no fan of the First Order. It is, in fact, my preference that your fleet survive and this invasion be quelled. But I am, after all, a realist."

Tambralynne was clearly resisting the urge to say something, which made Vahle proud of her. Not that he showed it.

"Nevertheless," Tellea finished, "good luck to you, Eighth Mobile Fleet. And may the Force be with you."

"For Admiral Carr" Keynine said, raising a fist.

"For the Hosnian System" Libra 1 added, doing the same.

"For the Republic" Tallion finished. She didn't know much about starship combat, but she knew a thing or two about motivating troops. Even if she hated doing it.

"Ready your crews" Vahle said to the group. "We execute the strike in one hour."

Everyone at the table, hologram or not, looked at one another and nodded. It wasn't perfect, but now they had a plan, and one that might even work.

It was time the First Order got ambushed for a change.

* * *

"You seem different" Tallion said, leaning against one of the bridge consoles, her arms crossed.

"How so?" Vahle asked as he typed a few notes on a datapad. He'd need to get this right.

"Well, you're acting like hyperactive voorpak that just discovered caf. So that's new."

"It's just adrenaline" Vahle said, noticing that he was tapping his foot. "Fatigue plus excitement plus desperation can do this to you. I'll crash in an hour and be back to normal in the morning."

"Shame" the Trandoshan said. "I kind of like the new you."

"I said nice things about you earlier" Vahle said. "Don't make me take them back."

"All ready, Commander" a Communications officer said.

"Very good" Vahle replied, holding up a disc-shaped microphone to his mouth. He fiddled with the distance for a second to ensure maximum clarity, checked his datapad notes one more time and began.

If all went well, this might end up in history holos. Also, it might help his fleet not die. Both reasons not to screw it up.

"Attention all personnel. This is Fleet Commander Vahle." The commander's voice echoed through the loudspeaker system of _Zama_, and all of the other ships. It covered bridges, barracks, hangers, engine rooms, cleaning stations, everywhere but the brigs and barracks in night configuration. He needed ever being he had on hand to hear this.

"By now, you all have been informed that we are about to put into action a plan to escape from this terrible situation. It will be dangerous, but it is the best chance that we have."

Didn't want to get anyone's hopes too high. That might make them sloppy.

"Specific orders for the roles each of you will play have been distributed to your superior officers. They will explain the plan to you and what must be done to succeed. But before we begin, I want you all to understand what it is we are about to attempt. In particular, I want you to understand what this is not."

He took a deep breath.

"This is not suicide mission. This is not a heroic sacrifice so that others may escape, or a defiant last stand to give the enemy a little payback before we falter. This is a battle in a war. And it is a war we are going to win."

Maybe get their hopes a little high.

"That may seem impossible now, but I know it is the truth. We are going to win because we are smarter than the enemy. We are going to win because we will fight harder than the enemy. We are going to win because we are _better_ than the enemy. Because we are fighting to protect, not to destroy. Because the will of the people of this galaxy is with us."

He took a moment for that to settle in.

"One day, schoolchildren will learn about this day. They will learn about the bravery and skill and commitment of each and every one of you. They will learn about how, in the darkest days, a fleet of heroes did not give in, did not give up, but struck a blow against the First Order, and then another, and then another and then another until the whole thing came crumbling down! They will learn about today, and what you are about to do. The eyes of our children, and their children, and every following generation for the next thousand years are upon you."

He took one final breath, and drew upon every last reserve of command authority and dignity that remained in his exhausted body.

"You have your instructions. Get it done."

Vahle placed the microphone back and almost fell into his chair. For a minute, there was silence. And then someone over at the Gunnery consoles began to applaud. Then the person next to them started, and the one next to them. Soon the entire bridge crew was clapping.

Ordinarily, Vahle would have signaled for them to stop. It was silly, and they had work to do. But he let them keep going. Not for him, of course. He didn't need applause. He'd settle for a few hours of sleep and surviving into next week. But for them, for the crew, it might just give them the sense of confidence – of hope – that they needed to pull this off.

"Nice speech" Tallion whispered, slipping into a chair beside him. "How much of that do you actually believe?"

"We're going to find out" Vahle replied.

* * *

The drop out of hyperspace was surprisingly smooth, with nary a bump. Even the overclocked and strained engines of the fleet seemed to have had their morale boosted by Vahle's speech. Or maybe it was just proof of the old adage that, statistically speaking, it was impossible for _everything_ to go wrong in one day.

The first X-wing was out of the hanger within seconds, followed by two dozen of its brethren. Every functional T-85 of Vega, Cetus and Draco Squadrons was ready and itching for a fight. The A-wings and Eskies were staying put this time. They were lacking in anti-capital weaponry, and if things went right, enemy fighter cover would be minimal. If things went wrong, the fleet would need something to survive.

"You think this'll work?" a B-wing pilot from Scorpius Squadron asked as his unit and Libra Squadron emerged from the hanger of _Alderaan Spirit_.

"That's up to us" Libra 1 replied. "Pick the answer you prefer."

"Alright, everyone, keep those foils folded and an eye on your sensors" Tambralynne said. "We want to get as close as possible without the SD running into us."

"You are safe so far" radioed Keynine, standing on the bridge of _Zama_, where a large holomap of the situation was projected. Kappa Squadron's K-wings would obviously be of use in this fight, but their lack of hyperdrives made them too risky to deploy. So Kappa 1 was reduced to a glorified flight control. Keynine didn't seem to mind, and Vahle made a note of that. Tambralynne would throw a fit in an identical situation.

"So far, so good" Major Chur reported. "_Zama_ has identified a safe hyperspace route and the fleet is shifting accordingly."

Vahle grunted in acknowledgement, his eyes transfixed by the holomap. A large grey circle extended from the holographic _Certainty_, showing the space in which the interdictor's gravity well had spread. The fighters and bombers were heading right for the edge, splitting into two groups for a flanking attack.

"The Tibrin cruisers are proceeding as expected" Sensors reported. "Enemy contact is closing."

The pieces of the plan were falling into place.

"We are committing" Vahle said into his microphone. After this single order, he would cease to be a commander, instead becoming a mere spectator. But what a show it would be. "All fighters, ships and guns have full fire discretion, and have permission to engage the enemy immediately upon contact."

The main ships of the fleet, _Zama_, _Insight_, _Alderaan Spirit_ and _Certainty_ turned towards starboard, lining up with the hyperspace coordinates _Zama_ had calculated. All available guns were turned in a single direction, pointed at the hole in space in the middle of the v-shaped cloud of fighters and bombers. Weapons and shields facing away from this spot were powered down to maximize the energy available.

Throughout the starfighters, tension was building, pilots keeping one hand on the stick in preparation for immediate acceleration. They all knew where the enemy would appear – the question was simply when.

All they had to do now was wait.

* * *

Dido Asardus was dreaming of the canyons of Brentaal IV.

She hadn't been there in years. Decades, in fact. Her last memory of the wind-swept landscapes, crumbling hoodoos and towering dormant volcanos of her homeworld was from the window of an Imperial shuttle as she left for the Anaxes Imperial Academy. At the time, with Rebels tearing through the Mid Rim, she had expected she might have a long deployment. But to think that the Empire would fall during that tour, that she would be required by duty to flee into the Unknown Regions and spend thirty years on ships and space stations in that damnable void – such possibilities had not remotely crossed her mind at the time.

It wouldn't be long, now. With the galaxy almost freed, it wouldn't be long before she would have a chance to see Brentaal again, to show Norinn it for the first time. The buildings were probably different. The people, perhaps, as well. But those mountain and canyons had looked as they did for thousands of years, and she had no doubt that they had remained exactly the same.

Asardus stirred slightly in her sleep before relaxing again. Sleeping during a mission did not come naturally to her, but with the Republic fleet taking an obvious multi-hour hyperspace route, it was clear that she had time. Retired to her auxiliary quarters just off of the bridge, she could return to command in a mere minute if the enemy attempted another escape maneuver. Captain Crowl was perfectly competent to run things until then.

And so she lay on a bed that took up half of the small room, dreaming of Brentaal. Her true quarters were larger, of course, though not extravagant. She was not a corrupt Moff of old – she would not expect luxury while her troops were crammed into tight barracks. Comfort, in excess, would breed weakness, and, by extension, death. But an exhausted admiral did no one but the enemy any good.

The ship shook slightly. At first, Asardus thought it was a groundquake, a not uncommon occurrence on Brentaal. Then the General Quarters alarm blared and her eyes snapped open, her brain reminding itself where and when she was.

It sounded like Commander Vahle had one more trick up his sleeve.

* * *

"Hostile contact almost upon us" Sensors reported, staring at the red dot that was the hyperspace tracker's location.

"Here it comes!" Keynine relayed to the starfighters.

For the next few seconds, there was nothing but the eerie stillness and silence of space as everyone tensed.

Then their target popped into being, right where it was supposed to be.

"Showtime" Tallion muttered.

"Light 'em up!" Tambralynne shouted.

Every single X-wing and B-wing accelerated at once. The capital ships opened fire.

So far, so good.

* * *

Dido Asardus dashed onto the bridge, her feet bare and cold without the boots she had accidentally left by her bed.

"What is going on, Captain!?" she demanded as she approached Crowl. Splashes of red and blue light were covering much of the bridge's exterior viewscreen.

"We are under fire, Admiral" Crowl replied, as useless a statement as if he had informed her that they were in space.

"FROM WHAT!?" Asardus shouted. Crowl appeared to be taken aback by the situation, which was very unlike him. Vahle's trick must have been impressive indeed. From the volume of fire they could see, had he found some Starhawks that had slipped through their grasp?

"It appears to be Vahle's fleet, minus two of his cruisers" Crowl replied, scrolling through information on a datapad, which was streaming the latest information from sensors. "Our shields are holding well" he said with a sigh of relief. "They can't even dent us."

A large tremor rocked the bridge, nearly sending the two to the floor. Several new alarms went off.

"That felt like a dent!" Asardus snapped.

"Explosion in the hanger, sir!" an officer reported. "I'm picking up fires all over! Significant damage!"

"Can we launch TIEs?" the admiral asked.

"Not likely!" the officer replied. "We need to lock the hangers down or risk munitions detonation!"

"Do it" Asardus growled. She turned to Crowl. "How did they outmaneuver you this badly?"

"I don't know" Crowl replied. "Tracking signal looked normal, and then we cut out of hyperspace without warning."

"Blast!" Asardus shouted. "Their interdictor! They snagged us with their interdictor!"

"Interdictor?" Crowl muttered, still in shock. "We're not pirates!"

"Are we at least firing back!?" Asardus demanded.

"Yes, sir. I immediately gave all guns full discretion."

"Well, at least you did something right" Asardus muttered.

* * *

"Good hit, Libra!" Tambralynne shouted as fireballs shot from the entrance of _Requiem_'s ventral hanger. "Now to disable their comms and get the hell-"

An alarm beeped on her sensors screen.

"Missiles!" the Zeltron cried as several concussion missiles shot from swiveling launchers and flew towards the squadron. "So many missiles!"

First Order anti-fighter defenses were no joke.

"We're done down here!" she shouted as BR-17 released a stream of angry beeps. "All units get topside!"

The B-wings didn't argue, running towards the edge of the Star Destroyer and heading for the dorsal side. Tambralynne instead dove downwards, her s-foils still firmly locked in travel position.

With the Star Destroyer between the missiles and the B-wings, the projectiles decided to go for Tambralynne. As they dove after her, she eased into a parabolic trajectory and headed upwards. The missiles were now positioned perfectly to cut her off, but as they drew close she pivoted again, flying away from the destroyer on a parallel plane.

As she had hoped, one of the missiles in the cluster thought it was close enough for a hit and exploded, triggering a chain reaction that detonated the remainder of the missiles in a flash of dazzling blue-white light that was actually rather pretty, Tambralynne thought. Maybe she should get one of those modern artists to do some work with concussion missile explosions. You know, contribute to society and culture and all that like her parents always wanted.

But for now, she thought as she jetted towards the Star Destroyer's ventral side, she had other things to do.

* * *

As unnatural as it felt, both in general and in his current state of fatigue, Marius Vahle was, ever so slightly, smiling.

This was going excellently.

_Zama_, _Insight_ and even _Certainty_ and their corvettes were pouring turbolaser and ion cannon fire into the Star Destroyer.

"Enemy shields holding strong" an officer reported.

Disappointing, but expected. _Insight_ was the only ship of the bunch designed for direct combat, and it was a sixth of the length of _Requiem_. The fire was really there as a distraction, though straining the shields a bit wouldn't hurt. That was the reason they were concentrating fire on the Destroyer's bridge, even though it appeared to be one of the most heavily shielded and armored parts of the ship. Vahle knew from experience that even if one rationally knew their shields were holding, the image of turbolaser fire endlessly striking the shield in front of a transparisteel barrier was intimidating, and that's what he wanted.

"Ready?" Vahle asked Major Chur. She nodded.

"Open the channel" he ordered Comms, straightening his jacket.

* * *

"Admiral, we are receiving a transmission from the enemy" a First Order lieutenant reported.

Asardus exhaled loudly, venting a lot of her frustration, but not all of it. "Put it through."

A hologram of Marius Vahle appeared on _Requiem_'s bridge. He looked freshly groomed, but, staring closer, Asardus could see hints of fatigue in his eyes.

"Ah. Admiral Asardus" Vahle said. "I have come to accept your offer of surrender."

"What are you playing at, Vahle?" Asardus spat.

"No playing" Vahle replied. "The superiority of your force is clearly evident. I am doing the only rational thing."

"If you are surrendering, then order your forces to stand down" Asardus replied.

"What are you talking about, Admiral?" Vahle asked. "All of my units have been instructed to surrender themselves to you."

Asardus exhaled so loudly and with so much frustration that it almost sounded like a snort.

"Cut it off" she told her communications officer.

"Commander, the cruisers are in position for the flanking maneuver" said a holographic Major Chur, stepping into frame.

"Excellent" Vahle replied, clearly audible through the feed. "Tell them to attack immediately."

The hologram winked out.

"Gunnery?" Asardus said, breathing deeply.

"Yes, Admiral?" an officer replied.

"Concentrate every offensive turbolaser on that Acclamator."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Are you allowing him to provoke you?" Captain Crowl asked.

"Not at all" Asardus said, her voice icy. "I am simply and rationally putting an end to this nonsense."

"What was that he said about cruisers?" Crowl asked.

"Back the ship up" Asardus ordered. "We must be prepared for additional attacks. Those bombers are not the only threat."

* * *

"Think they bought it?" Tallion asked.

_Zama_ shook as a barrage of turbolaser fire shifted away from _Insight_ and onto it.

"Let's say yes" Vahle replied.

* * *

"We're taking a lot of flak!" Scorpius 5 reported. Libra 6 took a laser to its central wing and broke in half.

"Is the tracker down or not?" Tambralynne replied, putting several laser blasts into an anti-fighter turret.

"Their signal is no longer detectable" Keynine reported. "It appears the primary antennae is down."

_Zama_'s bridge exploded into cheers, only to be interrupted by a strong tremor.

"That's great, Vega 1" Vahle said. "We're at 50% shields and rapidly approaching the exit threshold. Unfortunately, our sensors are detecting what seems to be a secondary communications suite at the rear of the battlecruiser. We need to take it out to make sure our getaway is clean."

"Final run, team!" Libra 1 ordered as the starfighters flew high above the Star Destroyer. "Blades out!"

The B-wings rotated, initiating their wings' proper cross formation to maximize firepower, and dove at Asardus's bridge.

"Maximize bridge defenses!" the admiral ordered.

"Bridge shields are holding steady!" Captain Crowl reported. "They shouldn't be able to penetrate!"

"They've surprised us before" Asardus replied.

As anti-fighter weaponry aimed upwards, the B-wings diverted, aiming not for the central bridge, but for the back of the bridge tower.

"Targeting…" Libra 1 muttered, staring into his targeting computer. The goal was a long cable running down the back of the tower, invisible from the outside. Difficult to hit under normal circumstances, let alone when time was of the essence.

"Mark!" the Quarren shouted, firing his heavy lasers and ion cannons in rapid succession as he hurtled by. The shots bounced off the shield, as did the shots of the next B-wing, and the next.

"Just a little more…" the squadron leader muttered as he pulled up to avoid colliding with the Star Destroyer's engines.

"We're at threshold!" an officer on _Zama_'s bridge shouted. "Time to jump!"

"Just a second longer!" Vahle ordered. He had instructed all of the ships to jump the instant their shields hit 40%, but he needed _Zama_'s sensors to make certain that the B-wings clipped the hyperspace tracker.

It was the fourth B-wing, Scorpius 7, whose shots finally connected with the metal of the bridge tower, sending off a shower of sparks.

"Shields cracked!" she reported.

The next B-wing in the line continued to fire the ion and laser cannons to widen the crack and prevent the Destroyer's shield generators from repairing the breach. The sixth B-wing fired a proton torpedo, which penetrated the shield and blew a small hole in the armor.

"The antenna looks damaged" Keynine said. "Finish it!"

The seventh and eighth B-wings switched to ion bombs and fired. Each one struck the torpedo's impact crater and sent a powerful electric charge running up and down the communications cable. One would shut the system down for a while. Two, hopefully, would burn it out for good.

"Secondary systems no longer transmitting!" Sensors shouted. "The tracker is offline!"

"Execute jump, Helm!" Vahle ordered. "All units, objective compete! Jump to rendezvous!"

Vahle took one last look at the enemy as _Zama_ entered hyperspace. Flames were billowing from the sides and bottom of _Requiem_ as fuel in the hangers continued to burn, but the Star Destroyer's massive turbolaser batteries continued to fire, unwilling to let their prey escape.

This was only a victory in the strictest sense. He was retreating, after all. But it was definitely a start. A good end to a bad day.

Tambralynne Kusarni wanted to stay and fight, obviously. The times she hadn't wanted to stay and fight in her entire career could be counted on one hand. Especially now that they seemed to have the First Order on the ropes.

But Vahle was right. _Requiem_ was bloodied, but not broken, with most of its weapons, engines and shields functional. The risk that they would lose a capital ship finishing Asardus off was too high.

"Okay, -17" she said as she swooped away from the Star Destroyer. "Let's get going."

The droid had never beeped happier beeps than it did activating the hyperdrive.

* * *

"The enemy is retreating" an officer reported.

Dido Asardus wanted to scream. She wanted to roar and curse and shout about all the things she would do to Marius Vahle for this humiliation inflicted in the Order's moment of triumph.

Instead, she straightened her posture and asked "Is the hyperspace tracker still following them?"

There was a long silence.

"N-no, sir" a lieutenant reported. "The hyperspace tracker is not currently functioning. They're gone."

Asardus turned and began to walk off of the bridge.

"Get the hanger fires under control, calculate where in bloody space we are and link up with _Supremacy_" she ordered.

"Of course, Admiral" Crowl said.

Dido Asardus reflected on her combination of emotions. She was angry, of course. Frustrated. Tired. Humiliated. Slightly fearful of retribution from above. Finally, truly aware of the stinging nature of real-world defeat.

But at least her bare feet were no longer cold. That was something, right?

* * *

"All ships accounted for" Major Chur reported. "All starfighters docked. No First Order presence or hyperspace tracking signals detected."

The bridge was silent for a minute. Then the cheering started.

"Excellent work, crew" Commander Vahle said. "This was a difficult day, no doubt the first of many."

"Way to dampen the mood" Tallion said. "But good job nonetheless, boss. I guess we got a diamond after all."

"Where to now, Commander?" Keynine asked. "What do we even do now?"

"It is possible that other Republic ships, including Admiral Carr's, are out there, but we have no way to contact them without bringing the First Order down on our necks" Vahle said. "Our best bets for the moment are planetary defense fleets. We need to rally as much firepower from them as we can."

"But what planet is going to help us after what happened to Hosnian Prime?" Major Chur asked.

"I have one idea of where to start" Vahle said. "Helm, make course for Mon Hast."

"Of course, sir."

"Mon Calamari Interstellar's shipyards?" Chur asked. "They'll have ships alright, but surely they'll be a First Order target."

"Only one way to find out" the commander replied.

Vahle stretched his arms and yawned, both of which were highly uncharacteristic actions. "Well, I've been awake for about 24 hours now, so I'm going to go fall over. If the First Order shows up again, they're Captain Keynine's problem."

"I appreciate it, sir" Keynine said.

"You better" Vahle said as he walked off the bridge. "Kusarni's going to fight you for it."

* * *

Hours later, _Requiem_ emerged from hyperspace near Haras Dawn, a small mining planet around a neutron star of convenient location but little importance. With the hanger fires out, the ship almost looked intact, but several scorch lines around the bridge gave away its condition.

_Supremacy_ was already waiting.

"_Supremacy_, this is _Requiem_" Asardus said, newly rested and back in proper boots. "How was your success?"

"The Republic's Fourth Main fleet is no more" _Supremacy_'s captain reported. "The same for you?"

Asardus grimaced, despite her mental preparation for the question. "Unfortunately, elements of the Eighth Mobile Fleet were able to escape."

"That is most unfortunate" said a new voice as a massive, scarred, holographic head appeared.

"Supreme Leader" Asardus said with a start, immediately dropping to one knee. "I did not know you had returned to _Supremacy_."

"I have just arrived" said Supreme Leader Snoke. "My special project required more attention than I anticipated."

"Of course, Supreme Leader" Asardus said. "How fares the project?"

Snoke chuckled. "I am pleased to report, Admiral, that Project Sinkhole has exceeded my expectations. It shall make an excellent addition to our arsenal."

His smile quickly shifted to a scowl.

"Not all of our tools have fared so well. Starkiller Base has been destroyed by the Resistance."

Asardus flinched. Starkiller had been the linchpin of the First Order's strength. Anyone who knew anything about the Death Stars knew that its destruction was possible, but for it to happen so soon...

"Fear not, Admiral" the Supreme Leader continued. "The Base has served its purpose. The head of the Republic is ash, the body is following, and the Resistance has given away the position of their headquarters. I am retaking command of _Supremacy_ to direct our retribution personally."

"Very good, Supreme Leader" Asardus replied. "We are finished with it for the moment."

"Today was a unique opportunity to crush an unaware Republic in a single day" Snoke said. "Am I to understand that you have failed in this task?"

"Not at all, Supreme Leader" Asardus said. "The core of the Republic Navy's power in this quarter of the galaxy is destroyed. Their base at Sluis Van is ours. A few frigates have escaped, but they lack the power to oppose us. Regardless, I am presently reassembling the 12th Attack Group to hunt them down."

"Your dedication is an asset, Admiral" Snoke said. "It shall protect you from the consequences of failure… for now."

Asardus exhaled, doing her best to conceal it. She would do her best for the Order. All else was out of her hands.

"Unfortunately, we must ignore those Republic frigates for now" Snoke continued. "Collect your ships and prepare for the next phase of Operation Nebula. With the Republic crushed, we must neutralize any planetary fleets that may oppose us before they have the chance to organize. This timetable is crucial – even the discovery of Leia Organa's base cannot be permitted to slow us down. As a result, I am calling up all our reserves to support my attack on her while our primary forces continue their original assignments."

"Of course, Supreme Leader. It will be done. Enjoy the Resistance's demise for me."

Snoke smiled. It was not a pretty sight.

"I will, Admiral. I will very much."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: _The version of hyperspace tracking depicted here is a bit different from the official Canon technology (which is a simple predictive algorithm) as mentioned in _The Last Jedi_'s novelization. I do my best to mesh closely with Canon sources, but I consider things like sourcebooks and novelizations to be less binding. The active tracking version depicted here, I thought, was both more interesting for the story and fit more accurately with the movie's depiction._

_ "After New Order," the dating system the FOSB officer mentioned, uses the creation of the Empire as its starting point, not the Battle of Yavin. So 1 ANO is equivalent to 19 BBY. This system is also known as AFE ("After Formation of the Empire"), but the First Order prefers ANO._


End file.
